The Coalition
by HackiSack
Summary: A tale of Guardians that didn't conquer the Vault of Glass, slay Crota, or defeat Oryx. This is a tale of creation. Though there is destruction, death, and darkness, it is the necessary tempering of will and Light to do great things. Not all deeds worthy of song are done on the battlefield. This is the tale of the Coalition, and its goal of peace in the Universe. (T for Language.)
1. Prologue

**TYPE:** Transcript.

 **DESCRIPTION:** Conversation.

 **PARTIES:** Two **[2].** One **[1]** Guardian-type, Class Titan, designate **[Mace]**. One **[1]** Cryptarch, designate **[Rahool]**

 **ASSOCIATIONS:** Priest, Archon; Devils, House; Russia; Cosmodrome; Beckard, Ralis; Mer, Belvaa; 'Ro';

 **/AUDIO AVAILABLE/**

 **/TRANSCRIPT FOLLOWS.../**

 **Mace:** Possible? Not that long ago if someone had told me what I would see, what I would become, the things I would do… Well, I can't say I wouldn't believe them; seen some crazy things during the Dark Age, but more or less would find it particularly hard to picture myself being a part of it. It's not as if all the wonders of the Traveler and its miraculous feats of technology were completely forgotten back then. My nomadic clan found salvage and some still working minor tech. Books even, not data-pads or memory cores. Cover, spine, and paper. Real books. We learned what we could from what we found or what others remembered. We pieced together our own insignificant little segment of the Golden Age and its marvels. Did you know that most of the people in the Golden Age were mainly vegetarian? It wasn't just because of the health and environmental benefits but also due to advances in agriculture. There were Sky Gardens. Just a few generations after the Collapse and so much had been lost and forgotten. Maybe the Darkness had something to do with that?

Supplies and knowledge were scarce but danger wasn't. They were always there since I was born. From one continent to another, my clan always fled from the scavengers. I was too young to remember what happened to me during an encounter with them but I did bear the scars. In a way I still do. My former condition caused by an accidental over exposure to Ether had no documentation at that point in time. All I know is the Fallen use the stuff to sustain themselves, heal, and grow to huge heights if rationed high enough. For humans though, the amount I was exposed to had the opposite effect. I became frail and sick indefinitely. This may sound grim… But I sometimes wonder if they were better off leaving me back then. I only could have slowed them down being the dead weight that I was. Love is a strange thing. I remember the talk of the Traveler being a haven driving them forward as my parents told me I could be cured there. Stories from other folk we encountered talked about warriors with magical abilities appearing, herding people to safety and protecting them against the scavengers. I remember when I saw one for the first time, probably one of the first generation considering how early in the Dark Age it was. His Light burned like a beacon for me then but in hindsight it was truly nothing more than a candle to the Light I've seen since. Still, that moment…

I apologize, Master Rahool. Just a few questions for the Cryptarch's turned into a whole personal history. I've had a few in me before coming…ya know, celebrating I guess. The Blustery Brew is as good as they say.

 **Rahool:** You still seem rather composed.

 **Mace:** I didn't have enough to get wobbly, just talkative.

 **Rahool:** I've been reading some reports and you're rather detailed.

 **Mace:** I've just always liked to know things so I'm usually very descriptive in every useless detail you could ever not want to know. I feel like it's important to know about the world around you and its history. It helps you with where you are and where you're heading. Gives you the ability to make informed choices. That's why I respect what you do. I'm not one for alternate hypotheticals and cracked up reality altering theories. Too out there. Honestly some of it sounds like bullshit. Damn, I'm sorry. Forgot this was recording. What was the question again?

 **Rahool:** Oh, erm…did you ever believe what happened could be possible?

 **Mace:** That was it, right. Short Answer: Yes I did, but I didn't think that this would even be important. It was personal.

 **Rahool:** Personal?-

 **Mace:** I don't want to talk about it. Watch the recording again and listen, if the audio isn't clear I'm sorry.

 **Rahool:** And that weapon you wield that felled the beast, anything you can tell?

 **Mace:** I guess so. It's still just a proto-type with parts from the Cassoid foundry and designed by Sha- erm, someone.

 **Rahool:** Interesting. I'm curious, why that particular type of weapon?

 **Mace:** Ya know, I get told by warlocks that I research and study too much for a titan. Hunters say I move too fast for a titan. Even though I seem to go against conventional expectations I can only give you the most stereotypical answer for that question.

 **Rahool:** And that is?

 **Mace:** I like to hit things. Hard.

 **Rahool** : …Ah…


	2. Chapter 1

_((So I have chosen an T rating for this just because I don't really hold back on language and descriptions. I don't aim to focus particularly on being vulgar or graphic or have 'adult' themes, but I try to be realistic with my characters to the best of my ability. So there may be cursing, bloody fights, but I'll stay away from really sexual things. I didn't want this taking up summary space, haha. Anyways, enjoy!))_

Ralis Beckard cowered as low as one could in a wheelchair at the sight of the monster. A creature literally of his nightmares. For as long as he could remember, Ralis was plagued with fleeting dreams of what happened to him as a child. It never was quite the same and he never could remembered how it all happened but he had heard the story from the others when they found him. His body became frail, sickness a daily norm in the struggle to survive. Ralis' legs may not have worked but his hands had no problem gripping what lay hidden in the cloth bundle on his lap.

 _"It may only work once, son. Be sure, squeeze the life out of the trigger and don't let go until it's fired."_

Everything was surreal. Slow. The monsters many eyed blue gaze coldly took him in as it ducked under the low doorway and entered the room of the old house. The sounds of gunfire and fighting were dying out and became to turn into agonizing screams. Ralis' attempt at fierce anger towards the four armed beast was laughable at best with the tears streaming down his red face while shaking in fear. They were caught. Their quest for the Promised Land through Old Europe was over. The scavengers had finally got them and were doing what they did best. Butcher and loot, just like London. Everyone he had known and grown up with was outside, screaming. In two of its four hands the monster carried sabers that shimmered with Arc energy. The energy pulsed and faded as the creature sheathed the weapons and surveyed the contents of the room, armor clicking as it stepped, decaying wood cracked under the creatures heavy footsteps as it walked. White and red patterns across its armor shimmered as it reflected a dim blue light that surrounded the scavenger. It was big and its armor was more intricate than the other four armed or two armed beasts.

Ralis trembled as he sobbed, rolling further to the back of the room of the ruined house. Along dusty desks were maps that they were following, memory-cores, data-pads, Glimmer Nodes, and books. All the valuables scavenged from his Clan throughout their lifetime. He may not have been able bodied but the sickness hadn't withered his mind. Anything from the time before the Collapse was of great interest to him and he learned of lost history and language. Now the scholar cowered before the four armed monster, his sweaty hands fumbling around the device hidden in the cloth.

 _Can I kill this thing? Can I save them? Why is this happening to me? I can't…I can't…_

The scavenger wasn't worried about the whimpering cripple in front of him. It rose one of its arms and grumbled something in its gruff language into a device as it looked around the room, taking in the spoils of war. It was clearly an authority figure. Important. Ralis closed his eyes and tried to calm himself as he reached the only conclusion apparent. He was going to die. He was nobody. He was worthless. But he could make his death worth something. Running one shaky hand up his damp brow and across his bald forehead, the other wiped at his drenched nose as he tried to compose himself. Slowly the scholar found some courage hidden deep within him. His light brown eyes opened, still red and watery, still full of fear, but they held something else in them now. Determination.

 _Pull yourself together._

Ralis straightened up in his chair and glared at the scavenger not concerned about his own petty life anymore. "You can't have it."

The creature growled in surprise and turned to face him. It couldn't have known what he said but it didn't like how it was spoken. "You just take what you want, kill whatever is in your way to get it. Have you no honor? Any form of compassion?" Ralis clenched one hand into a fist and spoke through gritted teeth, "Well this time we fought back. I hope that everyone you kill today take at least three of you bastards with them." It growled and drew one of its sabers and began to slowly advance.

His clenched fist extended one finger towards the monster as a rude gesture. "You'll be my first one you son of a bitch!" The other hand under the cloth went for the device and fumbled around briefly till his fingers went around a trigger and pulled. A hum began to rise as he held the trigger down. Ralis raised the cloth and pointed it at the creature. It spat out something more than likely foul in its tongue as it drew the second saber and activated the Arc currents with the weapons. He kept both his finger and the bundle raised towards the creature in defiance, rage in his gaze. The cloth began to slide off the object he held and fell to the ground, revealing a strange looking rifle. It was a dark grey color with a diamond geometrical design along the side that sported an emblem he didn't recognize. It had bronze colored cables running along the weapon towards the bottom battery that started humming louder as the barrel began to glow a bluish color. The creature let out a strange noise, raised its weapons, and lunged. Ralis kept both hands raised as they were and roared back, "Fuck you!"

The weapon vibrated to match the ever increasing intensity of the hum. Just as the monster began to bring its weapons down the humming stopped briefly but the weapon shook hard as the glow intensified. Trails of Arc energy flew from the rifle in a long burst, the subsequent force from the expulsion launched Ralis' chair hard against the wall. The first portion of the salvo slammed into the blue light surrounding the scavenger until it shimmered away. The rest slammed into the beast's torso and sparks flew as the energy coursed through the systems in the armor and charred holes in its chest. It fell back with great force, crashing into an old desk that gave easily under the weight. A white gas like substance floated out of the creature's chest and mixed with the smoke that the charred armor emitted. The scavenger shuddered violently in spasms as the Arc currently left its body. In gurgles of agony the beast began to slowly remove a cylindrical object from its side and injected itself with the device. Still dazed, Ralis began to recover from the shock of what happened and realized he had dropped the weapon on the floor. He couldn't let the monster recover. With a grunt of effort he strained himself hard to lean down and grasp the rifle and readied it at his downed enemy. Pulling the trigger again yielded no lights or hums, just silence. He panicked. Even wounded as the creature was there was no way he could physically finish the scavenger. In futility he continued to try the device.

Another monster entered the room. This one was also four armed but smaller than the one he had wounded. Bigger and more important than the two armed ones but not as much as the former. It wore similar yet less intricate armor. It had a curving bull like helmet that looked less like a mantle than the larger ones, it had a red cloak on that was smaller, and its eyes didn't glow with as much intensity. One thing stood out though. Each scavengers helmet seemed to bare a different design, almost as it were and insignia or nameplate. This one in particular looked rather fearsome. Two parallel lines ran down the front of the helmet in a curved almost horn like manner with the middle of each line being were the eye slit was, giving the creature the appearance it was crying blood. Various circles and accent marks surrounded the helmet mark as well, but the way the lines made its eyes stand out from its barely visible black leathery skin was unnerving. The new arrivals' gaze went from Ralis to its downed comrade.

He tried to desperately get the strange rifle to work, frantically hitting the side of the thing. _Work! Dammit, work!_ The other scavenger slowly approached its comrade and the wounded one began to speak in its strange tongue. Ralis was uncertain what it was saying but it sounded almost relieved, and held up the empty cylinder shaped device, pointing at a similar one on the others side. The newcomer didn't speak at all and there was a pause as it stared down towards the extended arm. It struck the hand away with one of its own. Two of the beasts other arms moved in a blur as it unsheathed its own saber in one hand and seized the downed comrade's head with the other. In a fluid motion the scavenger coldly slit its superior's throat, causing the strange white gas like substance and a maroon colored liquid he could only assume was blood to spill out. Ralis then realized a coup was happening before him. The monster dropped its dying comrade to the floor where it lay gurgling its death throes, twitching on the floor as it desperately tried to hold the flow from its neck in. The traitor then turned to face him.

Ralis froze as terror began to fill him again. Trying the rifle once again did nothing. He looked around in a panic and found only his metal walking cane nearby on a table. Before it only really served as a tool to help him stand out of the chair or reach far objects. Now he could only hope to use it as a weapon. The traitor began to advance and grumbled something that sounded amused as Ralis grasped the cane. Cowering in his chair, he held the cane in front of him like a spear in a vain effort to ward off the advancing monster. It did not slow, nor did it seemed worried. With a roar he jabbed the cane up at the scavenger which didn't flinch, it stood still and casually observed the object pressed against its torso before reaching down with two hands and ramming the object back into him. Ralis gasped as the cane slammed into his chest, knocking the wind from him. Before he realized what was happening the creature had grasped him with another pair of hands and he was flung face first to the floor. His frail body pulsed in pain as he lie on the floor, struggling to push himself up. At the sound of heavy footsteps, Ralis glanced up to see the monster standing over him with the metal cane in all of its hands. It swung down towards him and he rose an arm to shield his face. The cane collided with a sickening crunch against his forearm. Ralis howled in agony, clutching his arm helplessly before a living nightmare, one far worse than any he had dreamt. The scavenger struck again, and again. Each blow bruising or breaking bones.

"No…please…" he pleaded, but was helpless before the creature as it relentlessly beat him, spouting things in its harsh tongue. Soon just writhing from the pain hurt as much as the cane hitting him. The room was spinning, his vision blurry with white hot pain as he slumped to the ground unable to move anymore. The bludgeoning of his broken body continued and his screams of pain joined the ones outside in a horrific chorus. His soul felt as if it too were breaking knowing that those he loved were enduring this or worse.

 _Father,_ _Mother, Caric, Kelsa…_ He continued to think of all their names and it only made him scream more. They couldn't help him, nor could he help them. Maybe some would escape but it didn't matter now. He was dying slowly. Not even the screams of his clan could stop the feeling of being alone. They soon began to blur and become an afterthought. The entirety of his world became a metal cane slamming into his flesh and bones. Ralis felt numb after a point and would have sighed if his body could have allowed him. It seemed that through death he would find the peace they sought from The Promised Land after all. His body went limp and moved no more as darkness consumed him.


	3. Chapter 2

A void, abyss, a depth of unimaginable darkness full of absolutely nothing. It is hard to describe death to someone who hasn't felt it before, possibly because it's hard to describe the sensation of being nothing and feeling just that. Once your life is consumed there isn't a new beginning, no bright light leading you upwards to a celestial paradise, no descent downward for punishment of all your wrong doings. Death is the enemy to all known life, and it always wins. It has no favorites and gives no mercy. Its unbiased victims consist of everything that ever lived and ever will live. A force that all life knows and understands through the universe, some fear it or embrace it like a God. Unconquerable…Unbeatable…

Not anymore.

An explosion of feeling came to him so sudden in quick, Ralis tried to gasp but his lungs had no air in them. Instead he heaved, forgetting the basic act of breathing. His whole body ached, sharp tingling needles of pain stabbed him from every nerve. It took a few moments before he stopped panicking and breathed deeply.

 _Where…what…how..?_

Ralis began to get his bearings. He was face down on what felt like a wooden floor. A strangely old and moldy smelling wooden floor. In an instant the memory of why he was there came to him and he cried out in terror and rolled to his back, opening his eyes. It was blurry for some reason, as if he had something in his eyes. Wiping his eyes with one hand, he rose the other to protect himself from a savage blow that never came. His eyes adjusted. There was no monster looming over with his cane, the object was instead next to him on the floor, dented and rusted with age. The room itself was also aged, part of the ceiling had collapsed and spilt debris along the room. Multiple floor boards were warped and jutting upwards as if trying to escape. Ralis stared dumbstruck in confusion and tried to calm his frantic breathing. Then he heard something and almost cried out. Something floated down into his view. A strange looking mechanical white polygon with triangular points like a compass rose. The points seemed to rotate around a black sphere in the middle that held a diamond like glowing eye in its center oh the sphere. The strange geometry rotated on the back portion while the front seemed to pushed together and examine him. Then it spoke.

"Calm down," it started to say in an electronic voice like a mans but with robotic sounds inlayed. Ralis was anything but calm and reached for his cane without thought. "We'll need to be quiet if we want to-"

Ralis struck the floating machine with all his strength, smacking the orb up into the ceiling. The strange object groaned almost as if in pain.

"Look, I know you're scared, but I mean you no harm. Can you understand me?" the orb asked.

He starred at the thing for a few moments before saying, "Yes." That was when he realized something else. He was naked. Not that he cared for modesty at this point, but the realization was startling. Where did his clothes go? His legs, his body…they felt different. Ralis hoisted himself up with the cane slowly and was surprised how easy it was. "What are you?"

The machine slowly lowered itself, it's pointed ends twisting slightly as it did so. "I'm a Ghost. I have chosen you."

"A Ghost? Like a spirit?"

The things body shook from side to side slightly almost as if it was shaking a head. "It's just a name, I'm not an ethereal being as you can tell."

"What do you mean you've chosen me?" He asked and hesitantly added, "Did you save me? Drive off the…monster?"

"There was no monster. My kind was made to seek out those long passed who could wield the Light, it took a while but I found you here alone, dead."

"Dead!?" he exclaimed in shock.

"Yes!" the orb interjected and floated in closer. "Be quite or the monsters may hear and then kill you again."

Ralis quickly looked around him. It was the same house he had tried to hide in, only it was in even more ruin. Although he still remembered the events of his death, those before it were hazier. "I…couldn't walk before." he stammered quietly.

"Then sit," the Ghost recommended, "and get used to it. I brought you back without any ailments you wouldn't naturally have. This is how you would have been."

Sitting sounded good but lowering himself to the floor did little to end his dizzy confusion. "Everything looks older, how long was I…dead?" It felt weird asking such a question.

"I do not know, you were just bones by the time I found you. Could have been decades, maybe centuries." The Ghost appeared to be peering over his shoulder. "We don't have much time, Guardian"

"Guardian?"

The Ghost nodded, "It is what you are now, I'll explain soon enough. Hold on."

The machine floated around the room as if it was searching for something. That was when he noticed the body against the wall. The monster he had help slay. Credit couldn't be fully given to him after all, the other one…anger mixed with fear boiled up inside him at that thought. The carcass appeared to be many years old, the armor encased a hollow shell of bone and dried tissue. Parts of the suit looked as if they were removed for salvage.

Ralis scanned the area as well, seeing what remained of his clan's cache. At first glance the room held nothing but ruined junk but he began to crawl around and search. He found a data pad platform under some debris that was empty, useless for now, but it could view potential inputs later. Behind some destroyed tables and chairs he found a few stray glimmer nodes and brought his small salvage over to the Ghost. It was hovering over the monsters corpse, emitting a cone of blue light outwards as if scanning it.

"…What are you doing?" he whispered to the Ghost.

"Transmating salvageable materials to be re-purposed for you."

"…erm, what-"

It sounded as if the Ghost sighed, "Don't worry about it for now. Oh! Glimmer, that is perfect!" The orb rotated, and lifted the translucent cube into the air with its beams of light. Within moments the glimmer seemed to dissolve. "This should be programmable into anything that's missing."

Ralis stood there in silence, knowing any questions he have would just hinder the machine. There was a distant sounded howl of the scavengers that echoed outside. "Oh no."

"Fallen. We're deep in the dead zone so they might not be on alert, but they'll be close." The Ghost turned back towards the corpse and began scanning certain sections of the creature's armor, dissolving it. "Interesting…" it mused.

Crouching down low, Ralis braved a glimpse outside a large hole in the wall near the collapsed ceiling. It was dusk, and the light wouldn't last much longer. "Fallen? Is that what you call them…the thing you're…doing whatever to?"

"Yes," the Ghost answered as it dissolved the torn cloak off the corpse, "I'm almost done, just hold tight."

The minutes that passed felt much longer than they should have, especially with the cries of what Ralis now knew to be called 'The Fallen' growing closer. He slumped up against a wall and held the cane that had been used to kill him. It was hard to tell if the spots he saw on it were rust or blood. Maybe both. It was the only thing close to a weapon he had and holding it made him sick. The cane wasn't originally made as one, whatever it was used as before he didn't know. Maybe an axle to a wheel or part of a structural frame. It was narrow along the body and at what he used as a 'handle' was rounded in an oval shape. Reflecting on what happened did little to calm him, yet how could he not do so. Not too long ago he had been dying and now this?

"Okay," the Ghost said in a whisper, "Come here, I'm going to suit you up."

Shakily, Ralis rose and approached the orb. "Suit me up in what?"

"Armor." it replied.

Before he could inquire further, the Ghost shot forth the blue lights around him and he froze in place, fearing something would go amiss if he moved. Slowly matter began to form in shimmering light around him. Ralis held his breath and closed his eyes. A few moments passed and there was a sudden surge of weight on him. Opening his eyes revealed he was wearing a helmet. On the glass screen images began to flash and appear. A circle with a grid pattern appeared in the top left corner of the visor, a blue bar began to fill up at the top, and numerous icons were grayed out near the bottom. Ralis looked down and examined the rest of him. The ghost had seemed to mold the matter of the Fallen's armor into to a more human design around his form. It appeared as if there was a skin tight black suit around him with light and thin pieces of metal covering his chest, legs, and arms. The metal bore similar colors to the Fallen, red and white. Around his waist was a small and simple red cloth that bore no pattern.

"Is it safe to move?" he asked the Ghost.

"Yes," it replied and drifted closer. "Your Light has manifested itself in the warrior form. You are what we call a Titan. Now don't worry, I'm not going anywhere." the machine suddenly dissolved and vanished. The mechanical sounds the orb would make suddenly came from inside his helmet. "There we go. It's rather nice in here."

Ralis examined himself looking for the Ghost, "Where are you exactly?"

"In your Armor, I can trasmat back out of it at any time but this way they won't see me."

"Just me." He added flatly and lowered himself back down to the floor when he heard the cries of Fallen again.

"Maybe at a distance they will think you're one of them? They won't be able to hear us talking through your helmet without the speakers on."

That sounded useful. "What does this armor do exactly?"

A diagram of the suit appeared on his visor. "This is a standard variant of the Lightmail armor set. Although I had to improvise with the material, it'll protect you from minimal small arms fire and hazardous temperatures if your shields fail."

Ralis was trying to take in as much as the Ghost said without getting confused in his current emotional state, "What do you mean by shields?"

The Ghost sighed again, "Your Light naturally creates a protective barrier around yourself. It works in different ways for different Guardians. The suit is interfaced in such a way to display the strength and current status of the shield at the top."

"And that circular thing?"

"Tracks motion of living things large enough to set it off. Anything hostile creates a red mark relative to the zone of movement. Do you always ask this many questions?"

He angrily shrugged to himself against the wall, trying not to cry out in frustration. "It's not often I'm told I've been dead for a long time by a magical floating ball. I apologize for the damn inconvenience."

"Fair enough. Do you have any more while there is still time?"

"Well," Ralis paused for a moment, "What is a Guardian? A Titan?"

"Guardians are beings who can wield the Travelers Light to do great things. This Light can take on different forms from who the Guardian is. With you it has taken the form of a Titan, a warrior of Light with great strength."

Ralis had to laugh at that. "I've been a coward and a cripple all my life, running with my Clan towards the Promised Land. I don't know how to be Solider. I can't fight."

"The Light is formed from you, it knows you better than you know yourself and will just further enhance you. Give it time." the machine paused before adding, "Have you ever handled a weapon before?"

"Well, yes, but I didn't know what I was doing at all. I've never fought before till I was…killed. I studied the salvage my clan brought back, read and learned languages. I don't consider myself a warrior, let alone a…Titan." he flexed his arms out in front of him and bent his legs. It was strange how new they felt, healthy and able to move with ease.

The Ghost made noises for a few moments before saying, "Your Light manifested this way for a reason, you'll see. Although, most Titans would have had some sort of combat experience I'd imagine..."

"I did kill that thing." Ralis said as he looked over to the corpse of the Fallen. "I don't know exactly what is was that I fired, but it shot out Arc energy and almost cooked the bastard. It stopped working when the other one came." Just mentioning the event caused him to shiver.

"Do you know how to handle any sort of weapon?" The Ghost asked.

"No. If it has a trigger, squeeze it?" He asked sheepishly.

"This might be rough."

A howl sounded again, closer. "What do we do?"

"We've got to get to what you called the Promised Land. We call it the Last City. Under the Traveler, It's our only safe haven left. If we can't find a ship…we'll have to walk. I don't have legs but I highly recommend that we don't."

"What exactly is the Traveler?" he asked, "And what is this Last-"

"Sssh! They're coming!" the Ghost interrupted.

A faint red outline appeared on the back outer most most ring of the motion trackers circle. As he turned his head, Ralis noticed the red line changed location on the circle based where he was looking. Heart racing, the Titan reached down and gripped his old cane tightly. The line never seemed to grow closer, but he could hear the guttural speak of the scavengers a fair distance away.

"The Fallen have ships don't they?" he whispered.

Silence stretched for a moment before the Ghost said, "Yes they do. I don't know how to fly one. Yet. How do you propose we take one? You said you have no combat experience."

Ralis tilted his head up to stare at the ceiling. Ablaze with unstable emotions it was all he could do not to cry. "Look, I don't know! I'm the one with the questions. Do we have any other option? How far would we have to travel on foot?"

"Too far and it's too dangerous. I can revive you again and again if I need to, but if they get me…you'll really die next time."

Ralis hadn't known that. While that thought was emboldening, the idea of dying again was something he wouldn't care to experience twice. What other wonders could this Ghost do? How was anything it did possible? It was easy to imagine these accomplishments in the Golden Age, not now after the Collapse.

His brief moment of wonder was quickly drowned out by his panic. "Just tell me what to do…um do you have a name? I can't just call you 'Ghost' can I?"

"I have no name, call me what you wish." A Fallen cry sounded again and the Ghost paused. "Do you have a particular name you wish to be called?"

"Ralis, some called me Ral. I'll figure out something for you later. Where should we go?"

"We're too far from the City for me to call for aid with what we have, and it's likely the Fallen have a great deal of servitors here to interfere with any signal I send out. We'll need to tap into their communications, figure out where a Skiff is docked. We need to scout around and look for equipment or an outpost." the Ghost made a few noises before adding, "You'll need a weapon." Ralis gave the cane in his hands a pat and Ghost scoffed, "I meant a real weapon."

Ralis was frustrated and scared enough as it was. When he saw the red line on his tracker grow larger into a square shape the felling only heightened. "You said I could wield the Light, how?" he asked.

"You're not ready. It needs to be built, worked like a muscle. It's healed you, made you much stronger than normal, that's all we have for now."

He held the old cane close and tried to control his breathing as the red square changed into a circle in the middle, encompassing the blue dot he could only assume was himself. Ralis wanted to ask what to do but was interrupted by two hands that gripped the gap in the wall to his right. He rose slowly, wanting to run but frozen in terror. The hands drew back and hoisted a Fallen into the building. It had a similar shaped helmet as the one that had killed him though design was different. His fingers tightened around his makeshift weapon as he raised it above his head. The creature was looking the opposite way as it entered, not on alert. Patrolling. It began to turn his way as Ralis swung the cane towards it with all his strength. Metal connected with metal and the old cane snapped as the handle crashed into the Fallen's helmet. The creature gurgled and fell to the floor, helmet curving downwards from the blow. It was still alive. In a panic he leapt atop of the creature with the broken end of the cane still in his hands.

A primal struggle ensued as the two grappled. He had no idea what to do in his terrified state, instinct however did. The monsters four arms proved difficult to get around. Pulling one forcefully aside gave him a brief opening and in that moment he stabbed the jagged broken end of the cane down into the Fallen's unarmored neck. The strange white gas fumed up from its neck as the near purplish blood spewed out. The creature gurgled and flailed all arms, two of them grabbing its neck in a vain attempt to remove the cane and hold itself together, the other two gripped his arm holding the cane. Frantically, Ralis struck the creature with his free hand till it stopped moving and kept punching.

"It's dead." the Ghost exclaimed, "You need to stop, Ral. Drag it in here."

He tried to calm down. He sweated something fierce in the armor, wheezing hard as his heart raced. "I just killed something."

"You said you had before."

"I know," Ralis said as he dragged the mess of a body down to the floor, "But that one was going to kill me. This thing…I mean it would have, but…I used my hands." He had felt its life slip away in his grip. Even as much as he hated them, that feeling had been unsettling. He trembled as he lifted his hands up to look at them, covered in the blood of an alien.

The Ghost sounded sympathetic as it spoke, "I know it's a hard reality, but think of what they did to you. They've done worse to countless others, especially this lot. The House of Devils is as brutal as Fallen houses come. It'll get easier, but for now it's kill or be killed, Ral. There isn't a friendly soul for miles."

Slowing his breathing, Ralis put a hand to his armored chest and closed his eyes. The thought of more Fallen houses disturbed him, how many were there exactly? He gritted his teeth and grabbed the fresh corpse and rolled it over. It was easier to not look at its face. "I'll be okay."

"Let me out."

"What?" Suddenly he felt a pulse of heat along his left arm.

"Will my energy out of you, I'll check the Vandal for anything, you don't know what to look for." The heat grew and Ralis raised out his arm, imagining as if he was setting the current free. The heat dissipated and the Ghost flashed abruptly into reality, scanning the body.

"Vandal?" he asked the orb.

"The Fallen have a sort of caste system, this was a Vandal. The one you had killed before was higher in the chain of command, a Captain." It grew silent and continued to scan the body. "No far range Comms system. It has a shock pistol and dagger. Light equipment, probably a part of a scavenging crew. Sounds like others are nearby, they'll eventually notice it's missing."

He took the objects his Ghost had mentioned off the corpse and examined them. The dagger was similar the longer blade the Captain had used in design just not length. The shock pistol was a brownish color primarily with a rough and intimating appearance. Along the top of the barrel were multiple spikes and this one in particular had a small blade attachment under the barrel like a bayonet. The dagger found a home to hang on his belt. The pistol his hand.

"It we get a chance, I'd like to examine those more closely." The Ghost said and then added, "I can't tell you how they work exactly."

"I guess I'll learn soon enough."

A clear diamond symbol appeared on his visor and blinked. "We need to move. Try not to engage if you can. You ran from the Fallen before, do it again."

Ralis slowly took careful steps out of the house and into the streets of Old Europe. It was clear for now, but he could hear the scavengers in the distance. Turning away from the icon on his visor, he looked back into the courtyard where his Clan had made their stand. Even now the scars of the battle still showed in the buildings and holes in the street. Thankful he couldn't see any bodies from here. That he couldn't deal with. Even if some had managed to get away from the Fallen it was more than likely they were dead by now. However long _now_ was. They had tried to push through what was once Germany according to the maps, hoping the Fallen would be more inclined to stick to the their large ships near the oceans and eventually reach Russia in search of the Promised Land. Now he had to continue that journey.

"Ral?" the Ghost questioned at the pause.

"Sorry," he looked back down the street, "I just...am sad their gone." Slowly he began to walk towards the clear diamond icon display.

The Ghost allowed this for a while before speaking up again. "Can't you…go faster? Jog maybe?"

"I could barely walk before now, this is as fast as I have ever gone without my chair."

The damned machine sighed again. "You're going to have to try."

"Look," Ralis started as he struggled with walking faster. "I'm sorry you picked me to bring back, maybe you made the wrong fucking choice with the guy who's never ran before."

The Ghost appeared in front of him, geometry pinching together as it floated close to his face, halting his steps. "You're not a mistake. I know this is hard, and this is far from ideal for both of us. We _need_ each other. The city _needs_ you. The world _needs_ you. I can't explain why, I just know." The orb dissolved into his armor again. "Every Guardian is needed and I just want you safe."

Ralis stood there, in the middle of the ruined streets of a once great human civilization, surrounded by enemies and stranded alone, and cried silently. Clenching his bloodstained fists in all forms of emotion, he took a few slow steps and then began to run. The ground came rushing up at him as his face slammed into ground. The Ghost said nothing and Ralis could only lay there, laughing and crying at the same time.


	4. Chapter 3

Belvaa Mer's eyes flung wide open. She didn't jump up on alert or even feel herself sweating. Awoken became used to strange dreams after a time. Instead she slowly eased herself upwards from her bed and reached over to the nightstand. A soft glowing terminal appeared at the wave of her hand, illuminating the room with a dim blue hue. Various icons and menus appeared but she sought something dull. The time.

 **12:46 A.M. (Standard Earth Time: UTC+03)**

It wasn't too late. With another wave the hologram was gone and she sat upon her bed in the dark. Faint shimmers of light danced upon her silver skin in the dark as if they were reflected by water. This dream hadn't been as bad as some others. For as long as Belvaa could remember she always had vivid dreams, but sometimes they were more than that. It had been hard to tell the difference between a vision and a dream at first. From experience she noticed dreams tended to make less sense and visions had a trance like calmness to them as if she were awake while watching them unfold. You could never forget visions. This one was hard to tell the difference between though.

It had been months since the Gap, yet it still haunted her at night. The carnage of the struggle had been horrific and for most of the battle they had been losing. The retreat back to the city walls had been the most demoralizing part. Seeing the Fallen climb the walls in vast numbers with a city of civilians' right behind her ripe for slaughter...that hadn't been the worst of it. It was the sounds. The roar of the alien horde surging forward, the screams of death, weapons firing, explosions from ordnance. Many of her nightmares were just twisted versions of those sounds and images but somehow worse. Lord Shaxx never rallies a counter offensive, their morale is never bolstered to charge forth and push them back, and the city is sacked and burning.

Thankfully reality was occasionally better than nightmares. Occasionally. Sometimes it wasn't even related to the Gap. Once she had dreamt the Fallen were stalking her in tunnels of a ruined human city. Her Ghost had been destroyed and she wouldn't revive again. Without her Ghost she couldn't see in the dark and her Light felt weak. As they tore her apart she woke up terrified, conjuring up a blast of solar energy that created a small hole in the wall to the neighboring Guardians quarters. The Titan there only laughed about it and she has been friends with him since.

Belvaa felt as if she couldn't return to sleep but still lowered herself back down onto the bed, gazing at the ceiling with the bright blue eyes of an awoken. Her thoughts drifted to the Titan she had seen. Some dreams had been of others facing the Fallen. Sometimes they were long dead comrades, other times it was of complete strangers. What she had seen stuck with her. It had been so detailed she decided it had to have been a vision. None she previously experienced had ever lasted that long. Why? It seemed so insignificant, a newborn Guardian struggle after revival. Had it already happened? Will it happen? That Titan had been exceptionally pathetic. Maybe it held no meaning and the visions were as random as dreams. She felt sorry for the man, being brought back to this cruel world just to experience more hardship. A blessing for others. A curse unto oneself.

If the Titan really was in the dead zone, he would have a difficult time reaching the city. Shaxx's Red Jacks that cleared and held ground for the newly formed Crucible hadn't even ventured that far. As sad as the thought was, Belvaa couldn't do anything for the doomed man. She had no ship, was inexperienced, and had no idea where or when the vision would happen. Maybe it wouldn't exactly unfold as she saw it. If it did…his Light would be snuffed out before it could grow, a fate given to many guardians she assumed. An insignificant event that couldn't be stopped.

 _Light, guide him to safety. Darkness, turn an eye from him till he's bright enough to notice._

Prayers would do little, but it's all she had to offer. They are all countless others have had. The state of the City after the battle has been turbulent. Some rejoiced at the victory, some mourned their loved ones. Others like herself worried about the future. Their solar system is a massive place in scale for themselves, but just a tiny little speck on the map of the universe. With enemies everywhere out there, how could they expand and reclaim anything if they could barely hold one city? She had no answers, maybe someone would. The world seemed to be run without understanding it, trying to drove people insane. Tolrand, and now Osiris...his exile left her feeling torn. He had been an upstanding guardian after the Battle of Six Fronts, commended by Saint-14, but he delved very deep into trying to understanding the darkness. The things he said were speculation at best, but it made her wonder about the Speaker and the Traveler itself. What was the darkness?

Belvaa held her hand up in front of her, watching the dim light dance across her skin in the darkness. Her kind were said to be born of both the Light and the Dark during the collapse, changed by some event were the two forces clashed. If that was true, was she evil? Did the forces keep each other in check? Many questions she had asked herself time and time again came to mind with one common theme: she had no answer for them. Maybe that's what drove those warlocks to madness. Maybe she would go mad as well thinking about answer-less questions. Not being able to fall back asleep sure wasn't helping. Slowly she rose once again and stepped down from the bed.

"Wisp?" she called out in the dark room.

There was a moment of silence before a flash of blue light manifested the Ghost in front of her. "Yes?" He questioned, sounding groggy.

"I can't sleep anymore. Would you like to accompany me outside? I think I want to find a quiet terminal to sit down and read."

"I'll just stay here and keep powered down if that's okay." Wisp answered, too tired to sound like his normal cheery self.

"That's fine. You just have my clothes, so..."

Her Ghost beeped more alertly, "Oh, sorry! Yes." It drifted close to her and showered her in its blue light. Slowly something appeared around her form until her attire was solidified out of transmat.

"Thank you. I guess on occasion we can leave these out like normal people," she joked and adjusted the robes on her now covered self.

Wisp gave a sigh and shook his shell, "Well, now I'm up. Might as well come with you."

The pair walked out from their temporary room in the tower. After the Gap it was the only tower left. The others had been located in the outer city and had since been abandoned. Belvaa heard talk of refortifying those areas soon; however, it was doubtful people would live in them as they once had. The inner city was now exceptionally crowded with makeshift shelters popping up to support the new residents. Wisp floated to her left, a soft static buzz emanating off his shell as he moved with her. Ghosts each seemed to have their own personality, no two she had ever seen were exactly alike. Once they found a guardian, Ghosts seemed to develop their individuality at a much quicker rate. Some even modified their outer shell to reflect what they do or who they are. Wisp had taken on a silver color, much like her own skin. Every now and then he recreated the shimmering effect of her skin on his body, typically when he was happy. He had also modified the pointed ends of typical Ghost shells and instead had much rounder tips. Made him look almost like a toy. For Ghosts he was rather cheery and didn't take things as seriously as many other people. He had the annoying habit of humming to himself as he flew around. Thankfully he wasn't doing that at the moment.

She wore robes that were gifted to her after that battle and still wasn't used to the new field weave. It felt good to wear but she had decided to leave the helmet off to feel some air. Her white hair was knotted in a bun on the back of her head for comfort and ease. She could have cut it to shorten the length for the same effect but didn't quite like that look. Awoken weren't too common in the tower, but weren't rare either. A good portion of those who had fled earth came back at the tale of safety under the Traveler, but they had done so changed. Some found her appearance unsettling, others just seemed to stare as if she were a puzzle trying to be solved. If that were true, she herself didn't know how to.

"Your stride," Wisp said suddenly, "It's different. You seem confident and sure."

Belvaa's pace slowed down as she turned to her Ghost, amused. "Really? Because I feel none of those things."

"Ever since you were officially adorned Praxic and given the Cormorant Seal you've been like that."

Belvaa shook her head, "No, it's not that. If anything, I've been different since Twilight Gap."

"Well, yes," Wisp yielded, "But that was different. You were distant and sad. I won't lie, it made me want to have the ability to cry. Once the order acknowledged your actions in the battle, you changed again. Still distant, less sad. You trust in yourself more."

Her gaze drifted to the bond she now wore on left arm. The metal encircle around her was a coppery gold. A blue hologram of two eagles back to back with wings and talons outstretched shone from the top end of the bonds display, along with a pattern of connected blue circles wrapping along the length. The Seal read, _"Only the wind beneath you,"_ She remembered. It had been her desire to join the Praxic Order for a while, to stop worrying about the unknown in the world and instead help it. During the retreat from Twilight Gap to the cities walls, a force was organized to cover the majority of fleeing army. Commanders across the field had gathered Titans and whoever else volunteered to stay behind. Belvaa volunteered and was paired with two Titans from the Stoneborn Order. Each hastily assembled fire-team spread out across the field with one thing in common, each one had a Ward of Dawn. A tactic developed at the Battle of Six Fronts, the guardians became a living wall. A squad of guardians for a Ward, linked together to feed off each other's Light in battle. Fallen ordnance rained down on the Wards as the majority of the forces retreated to safety. When they realized their weapons wouldn't bring the Wards down, the Fallen charged. They held, threw the Fallen charge back, retreated, created another line, held. Slowly but surely they fell back, keeping the Fallen busy.

It worked for a time. When the line began to falter and guardians fell in battle…things changed very quickly. Fallen swarmed through the holes in the line and began to surround some of the fire-teams. Soon it became a fight for their own survival, those that could retreated to the cities walls. That had been terrifying. She had been ready to die her final death with those Titans, holding off any of the Fallen that entered their Ward. One of them typically would grapple with those that charged in, leaving it vulnerable to the others to finish off. Many Fallen fell in creative ways due to the closeness of the combat. It was a bloody ordeal that should have killed her. Inside the Ward, however, gave her an armor of Light that her own field weave could never hope to replicate. Blow after blow rained upon her inside the violet sphere and she still stood, a song of radiance burning around her, feeding her Light to her comrades to replace their Wards when they dissipated. They had made it to the city and were granted a moment to rest, cut short when the enemy began to scale the wall. Many had been able to make it to safety at the cost of a few. A great deal of those that covered the retreat perished, those that hadn't were honored. The Praxis Order had welcomed her saying she exhibited true bravery and shone brightly on the battlefield and had gifted her with the Seal and a set of armor, the Cormorant Line. In reality she had been terrified and felt the Stoneborn's were the only reason she survived. Before the Gap she had rarely faced any enemy.

"I don't feel that kind of confidence in myself." She told Wisp.

"I never said you feel it. Look, even commanders have doubts and fears in battle. The difference from them and a coward is they don't let it rule them. You fought and survived, that was more important that your emotions. You still had those, but they didn't stop you from acting as you needed to. Everyone is their worst critic. So even if you don't feel like you've changed, maybe subconsciously you have."

Belvaa smiled at the Ghost, "Maybe you're right. I still don't feel seasoned like a veteran, but I held my own."

Wisp chuckled, "Don't forget, you also had me. I did like half the work."

"Oh yes! I could never forget how you brandished your gun and mowed down wave after wave of Fallen."

"You know me," Wisp joked, "I needed more corpses for my throne."

They made their way in the base of the tower to an elevator and rode to the top. Up there it was always beautiful. The clear polished stone floors, the sky overhead, and the Traveler, hovering over the city quietly. Often you could find others staring at over the railing at all times of the day, still majestic every time it was observed. At night, she liked to look up at the stars. The tower always had the best view of them. It made her think of what was out there and put the scope of everything in perspective. She thought about herself as an awoken and the people in the Reef she knew little of. She thought of Light and Darkness. As a Praxic, she was supposed to focus less on questions and more on action. Beholding the night sky above her made those questions hard to ignore. Still she stopped gazing and instead found an access terminal off to the side where lush green plants grew and began to read of the happenings in the City. Wisp began to hum softly to himself.


	5. Chapter 4

In the darkness there was a faint light. Multiple rays shone from the wall above, an unrecognizable pattern of different unnatural colors. Ralis looked up at the glass from where he sat in the room and starred in silence. It was beautiful before he thought, but now with the rays of moonlight showering the decorative mural glass, it was marvelous. He thought he should remember what it was depicting. After the Ghost had brought him back, Ralis found holes in his memory. It was as if random moments or details had been torn from mind. He could remember the thoughts around the holes, but knew something was missing. For instance, he couldn't even remember his names of his parents. Their actions and faces he could recall, yet if he had to wager his own life on their names, he'd lose. It was an alarming realization. As Ralis gazed into the stained glass to try and remember what figure it was depicting, memories surrounding that lost knowledge came. The building he had hidden in was a church, one that predated the Golden Age. Members would gather once a week and worship at this spot, and fashioned works like the glass murals to symbolize the beauty and wonder of their God. He presumed that all likely changed with the arrival of the Traveler. Yet the simple glass mesmerized him, the first beautiful thing he'd seen in a long time. How it had survived intact for so long was beyond him.

Ralis huddled against a wall, shaking even though it wasn't cold. This newfound reality bit more than any winter weather could. Everyone he knew was dead, he had died, and nightmares were looking for him. He shivered all the more at that thought. Fallen ships had been searching overhead in the dark, likely on alert from finding the dead patrol. It wasn't a heavy search judging by the feel of things. Sleep still wouldn't come easy tonight. He was surprised that the Ghost hadn't said anything for a long time now. It had occasionally chimed in with inputs on his location and directions while he was struggling to flee, but remained much quieter than it initially had. Ralis didn't mind, the odd thing had been frustratingly judgmental. There was a strange pulsing hum from outside as a Fallen ship floated by. He held his breath until the craft passed, sighing slowly when the hum was distant and the red indicator on his tracker vanished.

"I'm sorry," the Ghost suddenly said inside the armor.

Ralis sat still in silence for a few moments. "For what?" He asked.

"What I said before. It sounded harsher than I meant and I fear I've upset you."

He chuckled softly, "Upset? I guess that's a good way to phrase it. I myself feel like an unstable and rather worthless piece of-"

"Stop," the Ghost interjected. "Just stop and listen. I'm sorry, but you have to understand. Do you know how long I've been searching for you? I've seen countless Ghosts find their Guardians, seen what they did together. After a while when the City was made I would get signals from their towers, updates of what was going on, what Guardians and humanity were doing when I was close. I kept looking, never talking to anyone but myself. I've had one goal all this time. To find someone like you. Now with that in mind, imagine conducting that search for a century. Now two. Then add some change. It might have been wrong of me, but it is possible that maybe I had high expectations after such a long search."

"That long? You were searching before I was born."

The machine made a few noises inside his system. "Yes, and I found no one before to choose. Maybe if I had found you alive I could have still chosen you. I honestly don't know much about the Traveler or what I even am. I just know I needed to find a Guardian."

"Why? What good can I do?" Ralis asked, lowering his head into his hands.

"Wield it's Light. Fight the Darkness. Save others in need and restore the Traveler."

He shook his head to himself, "I can't possible do any of that. I don't know how."

"Yes, you can." The Ghost stated passionately, "I don't know how it'll be done, but it'll be done by Guardians like you. We'll all figure it out, one step at a time."

Ralis found it hard to believe. A small part of him wanted to believe this a dream but the rest of himself knew better. He said nothing in response to the Ghost and continued to hold his head in silent turmoil. Minutes of silence passed under the dim rays of colored light before the Ghost spoke again.

"Ral, that data pad you found? I'm going to transmat it out. I'll upload some of my data I've stored for you read."

He looked up to see something slowly glisten into existence and held his hands out to catch the pad. The device was already on and began flickering as data was transferred over. Before Ralis could even protest, a transcript appeared with an audio file and began to play inside of his helmet.

 ** _\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\_**

 ** _From Lord Saladin's induction speech_**

 _"Nothing born is born strong._

 _I know I began weak, the same as you. I don't care if you're an Exo, staring at that number and wondering where you've come from. Or a Human hungry to understand the ancient world that left you for dead. Or an Awoken reborn in the very essence of what your people hide from. Together, we're the pointed end of a long stick of happenstance. Change one ripple in an ancient ocean and we would never have been granted the Light within us, or the good Ghosts that want to help us._

 _Humble origins._

 _Every world begins as a big pebble lost among trillions of pebbles. Every worthy sun was once cold hydrogen spread thin across the vacuum. Even the universe, this cosmic garden that surrounds us and awes us...this monument to Creation was once the size of an apple seed. And everything that's splendid and great stands at the end of incalculable chance and mayhem._

 _Yes, you have talents. Enormous, wondrous powers. But you should put the smirk away. Do you know what a Guardian is? Not yet. Your name is another pebble. You are a cold apple seed._

 _But you will grow."_

 **\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\**

Ralis contemplated this strangers words for a moment. His voice was gruff but his words had been moving. "Who is that?"

"A Titan," the Ghost answered, "Lord Saladin Forge of the Iron Lords. Feel free to browse the files, learn of the City and its Guardians."

He drank in the knowledge eagerly. It felt as if he was reading the old tomes his clan had once salvaged, only this he could remember fully. Events and names appeared in reports and he jumped between things that were interesting. It wasn't as extensive as what he hoped for, but it was something. An interesting blurb about titans caught his eye:

 _"Stand. Not only to fight, but to strive. For honor. For hope. We bleed, we die, we defend."  
_

From there another excerpt drew his attention at the mention of Titans:

 **\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\**

 _"_ _ **Before These Walls**_

 _Rezyl Azzir was a man._

 _In time his kind would be called Titan. Mountains of muscle and might and metal. His collar was fur and teeth. His person clad in ornate, golden-etched plating, trophies upon his shoulders._

 _This was before the City was The City._

 _This is before the walls. Still in the shadow of the fragile giant above, but before._

 _Salvation seekers came — survivors; weary remnants of a people on the brink._

 _These were the days before reason took hold. Before study was merged with belief._

 _The giant was looked to as one would a God. Maybe it still is._

 _Factions grew from the huddled masses. Like minds coming together to provide support, comfort. Over time these loyalties demanded loyalty. Differences that used to inform — viewpoints that when joined granted a larger understanding of the whole — became points of conflict. The sanctuary became divided. The shadow of Light grew darker. This, humanity's last oasis, slowly fading to a mirage._

 _Great, powerful men and women, The Risen, stood at the Factions' sides. Protection. Enforcers. Misused possibility._

 _Misery crept into this false paradise. Yet hope lingered._

 _Seeing the cracks in this society born beneath the giant's fractured shell, some among The Risen challenged the dissolution of all that could be. They would no longer serve as instruments of oppression. They would be more._

 _Thus began an unnecessary war made necessary by greed, ambition... fear. And, in the chaos of this struggle, came the scavengers — aliens with appetites. A common enemy._

 _In the end, the scavengers were repelled and the Factions fell, their grip broken, though their beliefs remained. This was the earliest days of the Guardians, when might found purpose. Prosperity was in reach._

 _Rezyl had been a champion of these wars. A leader. Against the alien pirates he had been more. If the giant wasn't a God, then maybe Rezyl was._

 _As the first walls formed — built of hard work and sacrifice — Rezyl and the Guardians stood against the alien plunderers time and again. More survivors arrived. More warriors._

 _The Guardian ranks swelled._

 _The City grew._

 _Hope blossomed. To Rezyl it was a currency. Hope bought tomorrow. Tomorrow bought the effort needed to survive today._

 _Yet Rezyl grew weary. Stories haunted his nights. Old stories. Those no longer told. Those locked behind tight lips for fear of what they may invoke. Whenever the sun dropped below the horizon and the moon rose high, Rezyl's thoughts wandered. How safe was safe? How long could they fight with the Darkness still writhing?_

 _So, every day Rezyl would fight and build and protect. And every day a city grew beneath the giant. And every night he would think about all that was never said and stare intently at the moon above."_

 ** _\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\_**

From there Ralis found the mentioned events in the Ghost's files. The Faction Wars, the Battle of Six Fronts, Saint-14 and his heroic deeds in that battle. There wasn't enough to satisfy his appetite for knowledge of the events, just enough to inform him of the world he had been previously dead in. He hungered for more than what the Ghost had. It was hard to tell how long it had been since he began reading. Moonlight no longer shone through the glass. The only light source now was the soft light of the data pad in front of him. Ralis turned the device off and slowly laid down on floor of the old church. Rezyl still worried and had doubts, but he helped people in the end. A goodness in the terrible world.

"Thank you," he said to the Ghost. "I really needed to see that. This is all just been…hard to handle. I'm glad I was able to read that."

"You're welcome, Ral."

He sighed slowly and closed his eyes, exhausted on every level imaginable. Maybe he could find sleep after all. An idea suddenly took hold. "I've got it."

"Got what?" the Ghost questioned.

"You're name. I don't remember everything I learned from before, but we're in a pre-Golden Age church. It's hard to recall specifics, but the heads of the church were very well respected, some believed they could use faith to heal others. You healed me. Not just from death, but my condition. The Fallen made me sick somehow. Couldn't walk, was always sick. A small wind could have knocked me over. You fixed that. I'm still having a hard time getting used to it."

"What did you have mind?"

"Bishop." Ralis answered.

The Ghost paused. "I like it."

It seemed fitting. The Ghost did resurrect and heal him, a miraculous feat by any standard. The little orb was also was very adamant about its mission with little understand of it. That reminded him of faith. Ralis smiled faintly inside his helmet. "Well, Bishop, it was nice meeting you today with all things considered. I'm ready to pass out."

"Rest well, Guardian." Bishop started, "It's not necessary for myself to power down, but it does help to rest the mind. You need it though, I'll stay up and keep watch through your armors systems."

The armor was uncomfortable to lay down in. Despite that, Ralis adjusted himself into a barely comfortable position and began to slip into unconsciousness. He dwelled on what he had learned as sleep took a hold of him.

 _Nothing born is born strong…I know I began weak, the same as you…Humble origins…You are a cold apple seed…But you will grow._

Ralis awoke to his Ghost yelling his name.

"Ral, you awake!? There is Fallen outside! Ral?"

"I'm up." He said, jolting up from the floor in alarm. Sunlight trickled into the ruined church. Sounds of the Fallen outside made him freeze in place. The motion tracker was ablaze in the color red. "How long have they been outside?"

"They just showed up." Bishop answered. "But I don't think they are looking for us. Something else has them on alert."

His body ached all over. Sleeping in the armor had been uncomfortable; however, it had kept him warm with the suits systems. It just felt more secure to sleep in while surrounded by these monsters. Now he truly was. Slowly he stood up, body groaning in protest. Finding his balance, Ralis slowly began to walk towards an overturned long bench for cover and drew the shock pistol. "If they aren't here for us, maybe they won't come in here?"

Glass shattered outside across the street and Fallen spoke in their tongue. Bishop didn't sound optimistic. "Doubtful, their searching pretty heavily here. We need to move, try to stay out of sight."

He nodded. "Okay, but you know it's still going to be slow for now."

"Slow is good right now," Bishop started, "I scanned the Fallen weapons you took while you slept. The dagger has a small arc charge inside of it you can turn on. I'm assuming it makes the blade hold the charge and you…ya know. The pistol discharges arc bolts from its magazine core. If you pull the end of the barrel downward the used core with discharge and pop out, allowing you to reload. However…we don't have more of those."

Ralis examined the pistol as Bishop spoke, "How many shots does it give us then?"

"About sixteen." The Ghost answered.

He took a few deep breaths and tried to push the rising anxiety down. "Okay, let's go."

Bishops system beeped in static before he spoke, "Go to your right. There will be more cover for us to hide that way."

Slowly he hobbled through the church, passing through old low doorways with no door while trying to be silent. The commotion outside may mask any noise but he wasn't taking chances. Down the hallway it forked in different directions. The path to his right had completely collapsed, so Ralis walked the other direction as he kept an eye on the tracker. Down the hallway he found many separated small rooms and a door at the end that looked like it led outside. As he walked towards the exit, a red line on his tracker appeared directly ahead of him and grew larger.

Ralis stumbled out of the hallway into one of the smaller rooms, nearly tripping on his way in. Flinging himself against the wall, he drew the shock dagger and attempted to hold still. The red marker grew closer. Closer. Something flung the door open and scurried in. He held his breath and slowly inched closer to the entrance, clutching the dagger tightly in both shaking hands. With the commotion outside from the patrols it was hard to guess how many were in the hallway. It sounded like there was only one of them and he prayed it was so. He had to be silent and quick. The scavenger was just outside the door when he sprang into action. With the dagger now activated, Ralis rounded the corner and didn't almost trip. This time he did. His foot caught and uneven floorboard and he fell straight into the surprised creature.

They both toppled to the floor with him atop the Fallen. It was one of the smaller, two armed ones. Ralis postured up, expecting the creature to raise alarm and struggle but instead discovered the dagger embedded in scavenger's torso, arc current flowing through its body as it shuddered violently. It only made soft gurgling noises but he quickly covered what seemed to be its mouth with one hand and desperately stabbed with the other till its death was certain. Sweating and breathing as hard as he was, Ralis felt much calmer than his previous encounter yesterday. He deactivated the shock dagger and returned it to his belt before grasping the corpse that was leaking that strange white gas.

Bishop spoke as he began to drag the body awkwardly into the small room. "This one was just a Dreg. There won't be a huge alarm if its missing for a time. Unless they find its body. Will you do the honors?"

The sudden feel of pulsating warmth returned and Ralis extended his arm to call forth the Ghost. It floated to the corpse and after a brief scan highlighted certain items on the corpse's person. "More arc cores," Bishop stated. "Not much of anything else worth taking."

He pocketed the cores in a hardened pouch that was fixed to his belt. "How many shots now?"

"Enough."

His Ghost returned back inside the suits system and slowly he approached the now open back door. Outside was a loud hum of activity as Fallen called out to each other, trying to be heard over the dropships patrolling above. He kept low and went to his stomach, crawling slowly by a series of ruined cars, from which patches of grass sprouted. His eyes were glued to the tracker to see where the patrols went.

"These Skiff's must have a place to refuel nearby if they don't dock with a Ketch. If they do, it's going to make getting a hold of one much more difficult." Bishop said as he crawled.

Once his cover from the cars ended, Ralis rose to a crouch and peeked around. Some Fallen had scurried up to the rooftops across the street and searched from there. Others still peeked into the windows along the buildings, looking for something that had them quite on alert. "If we can get safely away, maybe we could watch what direction they fly off and track them?" He asked.

"More than likely not. It'll be hard to follow them with this many Fallen around. Until you learn how to use your Light, we can't be aggressive."

Ralis nodded and waited for his chance to move. When the Fallen weren't looking he tried his best to hobble out of cover and moved towards the next building as quickly as he could muster without falling over. A window on the side to the structure was missing so he leapt through, his loud landing muffled in all the commotion of the search. He looked at the tracker and sighed thankfully when there wasn't any red near him. It was clear for now. The street on the opposite side seemed empty at the moment so he darted across into an alleyway.

"You're walking much better." Bishop noted.

"Yes," Ralis agreed, "It's just not fast enough. I still can't run."

"Soon, you'll do more than that."

Motion appeared on the tracker. Finding another window, he slid on through to a house that looked like it could collapse any moment. Carefully he moved through the structure as he attempted to get his barring on the Fallen. There was backdoor that led to another part of the alleyway, overgrown with grass and covered in debris. Clear. Ralis darted into another building with alerts on the tracker getting closer. It was difficult to tell, but he guessed the readings were indicating movement from above. He didn't have time to look or listen so he pressed on. He rounded the corner and encountered a Vandal in the other room. The scavenger had its back to him, examining something closely in a hand. His heart thudded violently at the surprise. Inhaling sharply, Ralis advanced slowly on the unaware Fallen and drew the shock dagger.

It must have heard him because it began to speak something he couldn't understand and froze in alarm. Rather than turn around it waved one arm over its head in a gesture, beckoning him forward.

 _It thinks I'm a Fallen._

With this realization he moved forward again at a relaxed pace, gripping the dagger in both hands tightly. The creature began to say something again and turned, still examining what looked like a glass figurine. It looked up and stop itself midsentence, noticing him now right in front of it. Ralis drove the dagger up into the Vandals throat and activated the arc current, causing it to spasm and lose control of its body much like the Dreg had. The figurine dropped to the floor and shattered as he killed the Fallen solider, lowering it to the ground. He sheathed the dagger again, hands not quite as shaky, this one yet easier than the other.

He found more cores and a shock sabre on this one. As he examined the weapon it brought a flash of the Captain charging him, the traitor cutting the formers throat. Ralis reluctantly added it to his belt and glanced at the Vandal. Its helmet pattern was a series of angled lines across the head, not the one that had killed him.

 _That one may already be dead._

The motion tracker was still red, but he determined that those Fallen were on the roof. With a deep breath the titan was on the move again. Making his way down the street resulted in him killing two more Fallen, their cries silenced as the arc current in the blade rendered their bodies immobile. When the second one fell to ground before him something strange surged inside him. It felt similar to Bishop being summoned from the armor but centered more on himself. He felt it everywhere, flowing through him. "What's happening?"

"Your Light, it is growing stronger." Bishoped answered.

"How do I use it?"

A Fallen skiff rose up into view as it floated over the roof of the buildings on the opposite side of the street. It was a dark brown color with patterns of red line across its body. Its shape reminded him of a fish almost with the small tail end emerging from the large front that was like the head. The front of ship glowed a soft red from its inner mechanisms that linked to the pair of circular jet like engines at the bottom. Along the bottom end of the tail were a series of holes and curved metal rods, above the bottom end were a series of red banners whipping in the wind. Multiple pieces of the ship were connected by a series of wires that possibly helped support or steer the craft. As the skiff started to pass over the street, it slowed and then began to change course. Soon it was looking right in his direction.

"Instinct, it's different for everyone! I can't explain now!" Bishop sputtered as a section in the front of the ship folded down out of the red, revealing cannons attached that rotated to face him.

Ralis felt the Light burn intensely inside him, begging to be released. The feeling was drowned out from fear of the looming ship about to end him. He tried to move but there was a heavy thud followed by a loud ringing noise that took him off his feet onto the ground. A few seconds later his vision returned but the loud ringing blocked out any other sound. The bar that indicated his shield had dropped very low but still held. Slowly his blurry vision formed the shape of the skiff looming above his prone body, cannons glowing for another shot. Bishop was yelling something that was inaudible yet it went unnoticed. All that mattered now was the newfound Light that had filled him.

Rallis laboriously lifted and arm upwards and called forth the Light into existence. It filled his hand in its own blue Light and he felt its weight. It grew bright and volatile. Somehow the titan knew what to do. He threw it with all his might toward the skiff. The blue orb bounced off the front of the ship and shortly after exploded in a bright flash. The skiff wobbled as arc currents coursed outside its hull before suddenly angling downward and rotating around. In the narrow streets as it was, the craft crashed into the lining buildings, driving its front end into a wall and whipping the tail end across the other building, shattering windows and throwing dust and debris into the air. He had no time to react as the craft headed right towards him. Suddenly, there was nothing but darkness, a thoughtless void.

Then he was back, hands above his head waiting for the skiff to fall. Instead of screaming he gasped for air and writhed at the sudden burst of feeling. There wasn't a ship about to crush him. It was below his feet, broken into three large pieces and aflame.

"What did I just do?" he wheezed.

"You used your Light, I think you detonated it."

He rolled onto his stomach as he struggled to rise, "What happened to me?"

"The skiff didn't completely crush you…but it had been enough." Bishop awkwardly explained. "Didn't take long though with the ship there, less than a minute maybe to rebuild you and the armor. We need to move, Ral. They heard that."

It was true, he could hear the howling swarms of Fallen coming. His tracker just then began to outline with red. Much quicker than the last revival, he pulled himself up and began to move. While it had still been extraordinary, the fact that he knew what to expect now was the main calming point. Strange to think that getting used to dying would have ever be possible. His weapons were still on his belt and he sighed in brief relief after checking. That respite lasted only for a moment when he realized the Fallen moved much faster than himself. The red outlines from behind grew closer as he tried to flee. A blue bolt from a Fallen weapon passed over him, then another, and another. Ralis turned, shock pistol in hand and fired back as he limped away. A few shots grazed his shield and he only flinched. That protection would take time getting used to. The Fallen advanced and he couldn't outpace them on foot. Ralis went into the nearest building to make a stand. It had stairs to a second floor that would make a good choke point so he began to climb.

Once at the top the Fallen entered the building in pursuit. He leveled the shock pistol down the incline towards the devils swarming in and fired. The shot was off and flew past the dreg he intended to hit. The dreg's own shot, however, splashed against him and nearly knocked Ralis to the floor. The bar above flickered a bit lower but held. He returned fire in a panicked frenzy, bolts of arc raining down on the dreg, causing its body to shudder when struck until it fell to the floor. More Fallen returned fire and everything became a blur of panic. The air sizzled in the exchange of arc energy as the bolts flew, breaking across ancient stone and wood. Or bodies. More Fallen died at the base of the stairs to his pistol, his shield allowing him to take more hits than his enemies. He would duck when it got too low and pop the weapons core out to reload. After a few frantic firefights there was silence. No more Fallen charged the stairs but he could still hear their cries coming from outside.

Ralis looked down at the still corpses with some part of him fearing that they too could come back from the dead. The tracker still picked up motion and he had his gaze fixed down to the stairs waiting for another push. A blast of force caught him in the side and sent stumbling to the ground. He looked up to see a Captain with a weapon leveled at him, bright flames dancing on the end of the barrel. It advanced from another room, firing a wave of four searing red canisters of shrapnel at him as other Fallen crawled up through a second floor window. Some of the hot metal grazed him and an alarm in his armor sounded as the shield faded, the bar flashing a dangerous red. Digging deep into himself, Ralis reached for the Light again as he rolled to the side to avoid another blast of the captains weapon. With the blue orb conjured into his hand, he rolled up and flung the ball of Light into the other room. A bright flash caused him to shield his eyes, his vision a static blur of white for a moment. It cleared to reveal most of the new attackers dead on the floor, some in more pieces than others. Those that survived covered their eyes and wandered blindly trying to regain their sight from the intense flash.

The titan rose, drawing the sabre from his belt and advanced towards the temporarily incapacitated Fallen, arc current flowing along the blade. He savagely tore into the captain first, slicing past the weakened blue aura with ease and running it through. A battle lust took over and he ended the remaining scavengers before they could recover, dispatching them as if they were measly insects. No thoughts, just action as the lust took him, anger driving his vicious strikes. Slowly the anger faded and Ralis found himself amongst a score of corpses, drenched in alien blood and panting.

 _I just_ _killed_ all _of them,_ he thought to himself. He had no love for the creatures but it was unsettling. How many more must he slay to be safe?

"There are Fallen patrol's still nearby, but the area seems clear for now." Bishop said.

He quickly began to search the corpses for anything useful. "More should be coming, but why aren't they? I don't see any-"

A loud explosion sounded nearby, the force of which caused him to stumble. Ralis paused and listened. Small arms fire rang out from somewhere close, among the noises were the discharge of Fallen weaponry…and something else. Human guns. Survivors were nearby and fighting.

Bishop made noises as he listened, "What's going on?"

"I don't know," Ralis answered. "But I'm going to go help." He bent down and snatched up captain's weapon, careful to avoid the flames at the end. "What is this?"

"Shrapnel launcher."

"Shrapnel launcher? Wh-"

"No," Bishop interjected. "Don't you dare ask me what a _shrapnel launcher_ does."

Ralis laughed, "Okay then, I'll go ask the Fallen."

"Oh I'm sure they'll just line up for you to test it on them."

The titan made his way out of the building and towards the sounds of battle. His way was clear of Fallen for now, which more than likely meant they were heading towards the survivors. There was a second explosion that sounded in the same direction.

"They're putting up I fight." Bishop noted.

The sounds of battle intensified after the explosion and grew further still as he drew closer. He found the survivors fighting from inside a large gated manor. Two Fallen skiffs were in pieces, smoldering on the ground of the courtyard with Fallen corpses littering the yard. The wall of stone around the manor itself was crumbling and did little of its intended function anymore. There were muzzle flashes coming from the three storied manor, some from windows or the roof, but most came from a large gaping hole in the center of the structure. Fallen swarmed them in numbers he had never seen before. Perhaps there were hundreds of the scavengers. Their blue energy bolts were fired from surrounding rooftops, from outside the manors wall, the courtyard. The survivors were completely surrounded. Some Fallen tried to climb onto the building and were gunned down by those in the windows. Strange red metal drones floated around the battlefield, firing down at the manor or crumbling into pieces and falling as they were shot down.

Ralis approached as fast as he could. Before he reached the wall he encountered a pair of Vandals down the street to his left, watching the building through scoped lens of a long rifle. It discharged long trails of blue arc current and appeared to be a precision weapon. He advanced on their flank and fired the launcher into their sides. The kick was more than he expected and the explosive launch of the weapon was still loud with his helmet on. The pack of molten metal slammed into their sides and felled the duo, their bodies disintegrating in an amber light. He advanced. Most of the Fallen he encountered were focused on the survivors and were dispatched with ease, the noise of his weapons blending into the sounds of battle. He reached the wall and from his side it was clear, however, Fallen still outlined the other sections of crumbled wall, and the courtyard, firing in a bright display of blue towards the manor. He could hear the humans now, screams of battle indiscernible over all the gunfire.

Suddenly, Ralis felt much like when he died. The sounds, the sights. It was as if he was there again, watching his clan fight for their life. Maybe there was a chance these survivors knew what happened to his clan. Maybe this was what was left of them. More than likely it was none of those things yet just the thought of the possibly stirred something inside him. They were fighting for their lives but were doomed. This time he wasn't in a chair. He could do something. These people's lives were in hands and that thought _terrified_ him. He hated to admit it to himself, but Ralis had been relieved he had been hidden away by his father before the fighting. A frightened coward hoping to hide till it all went away. It had solved nothing. He had tried to be brave but in the end died crying and broken. He stood there before the manor, frozen, seconds seeming an eternity.

"Ral?"

He remembered words of a man who lived long ago written in a book he had once found. The man's name he had long forgotten but the words were still there.

 _"A true knight is fuller of bravery in the midst, than in the beginning of danger."_

The titan clenched his fist, rage bubbling up and flowing through himself. He was afraid, but he was angry. No, not angry. Fucking furious. These monsters had ruined his life, killed those he loved, destroyed cities. For what? What did they want that they couldn't ask for? What had humanity done?

"Bishop, turn on the helmets speakers, amplify it if you can," he ordered, slinging the launcher over his shoulder.

"Why?"

Ralis steadied himself, looking at the battlefield. "I can't just help one flank of those in the building, the other will just push in and kill them. I need to get the attention of the Fallen. All of them."

The Ghost beeped and a tiny noticed appeared at the bottom of his visor that read, _Vocal Speakers: On._ "Done," Bishop stated, "But how-"

Ralis began to run, his anger fueling his stride. He stumbled a bit, finding his balance but he picked up speed. He ran into the middle of the fight towards the courtyard. His Light was building up to match the rage coursing through him. This Light was new though, it felt different to how the other manifested itself yet he felt both forces present at the same time. There was a lone Dreg firing from the cover of an empty old fountain up towards the manor. He rushed the Dreg and roared out savagely, the helmet amplifying the sound. The Dreg startled at the sound and turned to see him, fist raised and coursing with blue Arc Light. He punched the creature as hard as he had ever hit something, fist trailing electric currents of Arc. It cried out something before being consumed by Light, dissolving in a blue flash. He kept moving. A pack of Dregs and a Vandal all turned towards the new threat and began to fire. Shots glanced off his shield but didn't slow him. He drew the pistol at his side and returned fire as he crashed into one of the Dregs. Ralis lifted the stunned creature up by the neck and shot it in the chest a few times to finish it off.

He held the body in front of him and charged with a roar at the rest, using it as a shield while firing back with the pistol. They fell before him yet he still moved, going closer and closer to the center the court yard. Fallen from the rooftops began to shoot down at him, some hit the body he held, some glanced off his shield of light. He ran to break their line of fire and was blocked by a Vandal, shock sabre in hand. Ralis flung the corpse at the creature as he ran, knocking the surprised Vandal off balance. His Light surged up again and he punched the monster out of existence. Battle fever overtook the titan and he roared loudly as he charged, insulted and cursed when he killed, and created a battlefield of havoc centered only on himself. The survivors, with a break from most of the Fallen arms fire, began to cover him, targeting those that were outside the courtyard. At one point he was beset upon by a captain and its followers, taking him to the ground bellowing. They all stabbed into him, lowering his shield rapidly until he began to feel the blades cutting like plasma torches. In desperation he held out his hand and called for the Light to detonate.

 **Darkness.**

Then he was back. This time he felt himself come into existence a short distance in the air and fell onto his feet, barely keeping steady. His Ghost was less gentle with this revival. Pieces of Fallen surrounded him in a mess of gore. The Captain had survived the blast from the look of its corpse but the survivors appeared to have filled the thing with bullets afterwards. The battle still raged and so did he. It wasn't the first time he died that fight, but he did it gladly, fighting and dragging the Fallen to him rather than the others. He could die, they couldn't. He unleashed his Light upon them whenever he could, the bright displays garnered a great deal of attention and enemy fire. He used the launcher till it ran out fired no more, then the pistol, then whatever weapon he could pick up. Soon he only had the shock blades and his fists with no time to grab another armament. They surrounded him once again and the notion of impending doom didn't scare him, it just made him angrier. This many around him would kill him and then Bishop, rendering him forever gone. That he could accept, he had already done that once before. He couldn't accept the survivors sharing that fate. Light flared through him, different yet again and more intense than ever before.

It was held at bay, awaiting to be brought forth like before and Ralis gladly did so. It coursed through and consumed him, cackling across his body in a bright blue energy. It was too much and begged to be released. Unable to hold onto such intensity, his eyes closed as he fell to his knees and slammed the ground with armored hands. He felt the Light explode outwards. Ralis rose and opened his eyes, revealing himself to be standing in small crater, no Fallen around him. The rest were stragglers, easily picked off either by himself or the others. When none stood before him, Ralis turned from the courtyard and began to walk up towards the battle torn manor in eerie silence. He saw more and more distant forms of humans appear in the structure, silently gazing down at him. The titans pace slowed to a stop before the survivors and he stood, body in agony and ears ringing like bells as he looked up at them. They all began to cheer and Ralis couldn't help but smile.

((I apologize for the delay on this update, it was rather large and I was extremely busy with work. I do upload chunks of chapters as I write them in pieces to the forums, each post can only contain a certain amount so I put a bit up when I fell like I have enough. You'll be able to catch me writing parts of the chapters on there before I put the completed one up here. Anyways, I'm glad to have gotten this far without running out of steam, I've got a lot more coursing through my head and I hope to be able to share it with you all.))


	6. Interlude: The Desert Fox

**TYPE:** Transcript.

 **DESCRIPTION:** Conversation.

 **PARTIES:** Three **[3]**. One **[1]** Guardian-type, Class **[REDACTED]** designate **[REDACTED]** ** _['Fox']_** , One **[1]** Ghost-type, designate **[Ghost]** , One **[1]** Cryptarch, designate **[Rahool].**

 **ASSOCIATIONS:** Priest, Archon; Devils, House; Russia; Cosmodrome; Beckard, Ralis; Mer, Belvaa; 'Ro'; Mars; Holborn; Zone, Exclusion;

 **/AUDIO AVAILABLE/**

 **/TRANSCRIPT FOLLOWS.../**

 **Rahool:** Oh, a sample? Let's see here...

 **[audible click]**  
 **[static]**

 **Ghost:** Two targets, 976.4 yards.

 **Fox:** I see them

 **Ghost:** Windage, 11.6 knots from the east.

 **Fox:** Gotcha.

 **Ghost:** Targets moving north at 27.8 knots.

 **Fox:** Yep.

 **Ghost:** …fire when-

 **[audible crack]  
[audible crack]**

 **Fox:** Targets down.

 **Ghost:** Nice shooting.

 **[static]**  
 **[silence]**  
 **[silence]**  
 **[audible cough]**

 **Rahool:** …and that is an example of your entire day?

 **Fox:** Yeah. That one in particular was exciting.

 **\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\**

A soft sound echoed out from the strange archaic device, musical and rhythmic. It was a light strumming on what was once called a guitar, but the man listening didn't know of its name, nor did he care to. The man simple enjoyed the building exposition of the song, swaying softly in his makeshift net hammock in casual attire with closed eyes. Pieces of gear lay scattered on the floor below the lounging man, covered in red sand and worn with heavy use. Percussion instruments sounded in the background, the guitar strumming louder in turn. The song echoed throughout the room that had the look of a bomb shelter. Old rustic lights were framed in what looked like oval cages along the concrete wall, their soft light framing the room in a dim yellow hue. Motes of dust and sand collected in front of the lights in a soft dance. Below the hammock sat a table with an assortment of objects scattered along its length: Maps, an assortment of books, one armored glove in a set pair, an empty turned over glass, and the old music device. As the song took to a quicker pace a vocalist began to sing of a woman, comparing her to a well-kept machine.

From the hammock the man lay, a hazed cloud of smoke above him as he held a pipe up to his lips and inhaled, kicking one of his bare feet idly to the beat of the song and staring up into the ceiling as if it were the sky. He breathed out and added to the haze in the room like a dragon breathing fire. One hand held the pipe, the other caressed a medallion hanging around his neck. It depicted a bronze colored fox head, eyes large and ears long, head lowered as if ready to pounce. His thumb rubbed the initials engraved on the back, feeling the outlines of the letters slowly in circles. He stared blankly ahead in silence save for the ancient song playing its chorus. The man nonchalantly dropped the medallion against his chest in resignation, spinning a knife up from his belt into his fingers. He flung the weapon across the room into the breastplate of a large piece of armor meant for a creature many times his size. It was one of many knives sticking from the piece, along with some scattered on the floor before it.

There was a flash of blue and a Ghost floated into the room, its shell heavily modified from the standard model. It sported a red camouflaged pattern rather than white and its geometry had a more subtle rounded shell with less mass, the eye piece, however, was much different. It appeared to be situated on a rising layer of circles surrounding the eye that moved the piece forward like a telescope. The Ghost looked around the room for a moment and expanded, ends floating around its body as a blue sphere surrounded it.

"I've got a secure signal coming in." it announced.

The man sighed but kept his eyes closed. "Turn the music off and patch it though."

The Ghost rose higher into the air as the music device clicked off, pulsating blue before another voice came out from the machines light:

 _"Hey there ya old scarab. How's the whole hermit in the wilds thing going? Still got a healthy diet of sand?"_

The man sighed.

 _"Hello? Don't tell me you've gone crazy now."_

"No," the man answered. "Still just as crazy as you."

The voice scoffed. _"Now see, if you even remotely think you're as insane as me, do yourself a favor and come back here for some counseling. It's been a while!"_

"It has." The man agreed.

 _"I was beginning to think you were dead! Anyways, here's what's up. I just sat through Andal debriefing a pair of guardians. I won't bore you with the specifics, they're classified anyways, but you're probably used to that now. They were pincered pretty hard by some wandering sand eaters near the exclusion zone while following up on your reports. Gotta say, you've sent some pretty solid intel. Bet old Holborn misses ya."_

The man shook his head, "He's too cheerful for my taste."

The voice laughed, _"It's impossible to put that man in a bad mood. Believe me, I've tried. Right. So back to the story: two guardians, and a whole lot of space hippos, okay? Their on the ropes when the cabal just start dropping like flies, falling over as if from some invisible force one said. The other said she tried to follow a tracer that only could have come from some half buried sky scrapers between the barrens and the scablands. Said the shot would have been absurdly hard, but the follow ups were impossibly fast and accurate. Killed all of the surrounding Cabal. Know anything about that?"_

"Didn't kill all of them. I stunned a few that they finished."

 _"I_ knew _it!"_ The voice proclaimed. _"Now I haven't told anyone, but the Vanguard is aware. Few stories of The Desert Fox are still going around. I know you're doing your own thing, but they might need you. If I'm being honest, I might need you too. Not in some gooey romantic way mind you. You've helped on your own terms, but some big things are going down and we may need more than that. You kept in touch with the City?"_

"You stop gambling?"

 _"I'll take that as a no. Let's see here, hmm, alright. I shouldn't be sending you this, considering you're…you, but I'll give some details to your Ghost. Remember, wasn't me. Feel free to come and visit after you do though, they'll likely want to have a chat. Plus I've got something for you."_

"What's that?" the man asked.

 _"My debt, paid in full. I think you'll like it."_ The voice replied.

"Well until it is paid, I have just one request: tell the Vanguard to stop sending idiots to Mars."

 _"Will do. Might phrase it a little differently, but they'll hear it."_

The man opened his eyes and tilted his head slightly to look at the Ghost, a sly smile appearing on his lips. "Oh, and Cayde?"

 _"Yeah?"_

"About you _needing_ me? That blue thing on your head makes you look like a unicorn. Really doesn't do it for me."

He sounded offended. _"You're really terrible with people, ya know that?"_

The signal dropped, and the Ghost slowly returned to its normal shape, beeping. "I've got the files he mentioned. Do you want to see them?"

"Not just yet." The man said, settling back down into the hammock. "Start the music up again, I'll read it afterwards." He took another inhale of his pipe and closed his eyes as the song continued where it left off.


	7. Chapter 5

_((So to anyone who has read this far, thank you for keeping up with the story! I hope you've enjoyed it so far. I consider this a completion of about a third of what I would want to write and I plan to keep going. I wanted to take this moment to mention a few things. First, the chronological order of the chapters isn't always at the same places in time as the others. Like the interlude I did before this chapter was a flash back of sorts. That was based on a friends character from the in-game clan Coalition of the Verse. I wanted to include their characters as a part of the story so he gave me some details and we swapped ideas and he'll be appearing at some point as well as others. It got me thinking, maybe other people have some interesting ideas too. So if you want to, feel free to PM me ideas for a original character you'd like to see worked in. They don't even have to be a guardian. I just had so fun collaborating on the character i'd like to possibly do more. Also, when I mentioned the forums on here, I as talking about the Bungie forums, needed to clarify._

 _Apparently, FanFiction doesn't like putting the full link up on here and cuts it off. You'll find it on the forums easy if you look._

 _Anyways, that's it, hope you all enjoy!))_

* * *

The day had been far from over after the battle. The battered collection of survivors were forced to move at a more rapid pace than usual. Ralis of course joined them, but that process had been much different than what any of them imagined. He had hoped to find remnants of his clan, maybe even just the smallest hint that they were alive. That sadly hadn't been the case. Instead, they were what remained of a settlement called Rhine. Destroyed by Fallen, those that were left had been slowly moving their way across Europe in search of the City. A similar story, different people. They had been looking at him as a long needed savior to lead them to peace, to answer their many questions about a terminal and chaotic world. He could do none of those things. He was just a barely two day risen guardian and only held the unique trait of being able to die for them over and over again. He had no answers or plan, no way for them to take flight and escape this accursed dead zone. They had expected a knight in shining armor and Ralis could feel their disappointment. Grateful for his aid, but saddened he couldn't end their plight.

A rugged, middle aged man, battle scarred with unkempt brown hair, had approached him after the battle. His name was Victor, his clothes were rags, but with the reverence the others held him, you'd think he was a king. At first he began to speak in a language that Ralis could only assume was German. When it was clear the titan didn't understand he tried in English. Ralis nodded in acknowledgment and Victor continued in heavy accent.

"A guardian!" Victor had smiled. "It's been so long since we've seen one of you. Thank you. We're in bad shape, lots of children with us, and no supplies. We need to leave, now if possible. Do you have a ship? Allies nearby?"

Ralis had fumbled for the words as he realized they assumed he could take them away. "I'm sorry…but I'm stuck here, just as you are. I'm all alone."

The man's smile had faded fast, quickly replaced by anger. Ralis heard a barrage of curses he didn't quite understand directed towards the sky from the man till he was silenced by a younger fellow he later learned was called Theo. Since then the titan could only fall in line with the survivors as they fled the manor. Bishop had asked to be let loose to survey the area as they rushed to vacate the recent battlefield. He wasn't sure what the Ghost had wanted to see, but Ralis had done his best to help gather their supplies with the others as they prepared to flee. It was during this that he realized how much taller he was from before, lumbering a good head taller than the largest man present. Once done, there was a brief moment of silence as they lined up those who had died in the firefight. Six men, some just boys, two women. Their weapons were salvaged and given out to those still unarmed.

Theo had armed him with a rustic pumped shotgun and some ammo. "The way you fought, you could use this." He had said.

Bishop had been more useful to the survivors, offering directional help and answering a few questions tossed his way by a number of people. Ralis felt useless save for his likeness of a pack mule. The children were the ones that brought up his spirits as they had left, marveling at him like a legend come to life. Maybe he wasn't taking them away, but he had saved them, and they thought he'd be able to keep them safe. Their lives were still partially in his hands. It was an emboldening and horrifying thought at the same time.

Now, Ralis sat alone in the dark service tunnels they had taken shelter in. His Ghost was busy spending time among the survivors and he was okay with that. Shame still coursed through him and he didn't wish to interact with anyone. He had always been shy, even amongst his own clan. Meeting new people in these circumstances didn't serve to help that feeling. The titan held a plastic cylinder that glowed a soft orange, rolling it idly across his palm as it softly illuminated the isolated dead end he had chosen to rest in. Stripped to the black form fitting suit and free of his armor, his body sighed in relief as he rested in relative safety on a bundle of rags. He chewed on a piece of dry meat that a woman named Nele had said they synthesized. The lack of hunger he felt was surprising given the fact he hadn't eaten in almost two days, but the food was still a welcomed sensation of being normal. Ralis was very much aware that wasn't the case for him anymore.

Setting the stick down at his feet, Ralis lifted up the data-pad into view and continued to enter characters into the device. He had a lot of time to be inside his head recently. The more he went back to his thoughts, the less he found. Things he remembered only an hour ago were suddenly gone. It was becoming alarming. So now he sat, frantically trying to empty out his memories into the pad to preserve himself. He sparred no detail and cared little for his line of thought or grammar. If anything from before could vanish there was no time to spare. The glowing stick had reminded him of something, yet as he had stared intently into the light, the thought never surfaced so he moved on. A great deal of his thoughts had been added to the device but more dwelled in his mind. He typed fervently into the pad.

 _: We took shelter in a museum once. Anything remotely useful had been looted long before but it kept us dry for the night. My mother wheeled me around to look at whatever remained while my father helped with setting up watch. I can't remember everything I saw now, but I remember the sensation of wonder. The golden age had marvels that you keep hearing of, but hearing from the time before then? It's wondrous in another way. Anything about knights I loved. My father would have made a great knight and I had wished to be like him. Strong, decisive, chivalrous._

Ralis ran his fingers across his head as if to dig more thoughts from it. Hair now grew atop his scalp for the first time he could remember. It was short but still there, its color unknown to him. In his rebirth many things about him had been physically different besides just the fact he could walk. It was hard to adjust to. His height, strength, even his voice. He felt strong and clearly was, preforming inhuman feats while looking only leanly muscled. Perhaps that was from the Light. If he worked at it and got bigger like his father, what levels of strength he could reach?

 _: There were many settlements we encountered on our journey. I don't remember all their names but here is a list of some:_

Ralis heard footsteps approaching and paused in his recollection, looking up to see a faint orange glow approaching. The outline of a figure was dimly silhouetted from the light as they approached him.

Theo's face appeared as he neared. His blonde hair was pulled behind him in a tail, eyes bright blue. There was the faintest hint of facial hair on him compared to the others that had wild beards. He wore a heavy ragged cloak due to the chill of the tunnels and almost seemed to waddle towards the titan. "Do you mind some company, guardian?" He asked.

Ralis slowly shook his head, "No, but I'm not much of a talker."

"Then I'll talk." Theo said and sat down on the cold stone floor, cloak spreading out around him. "I'm sorry for what Victor did. He's not angry at you, just the situation. He's been a leader of sorts as far back as I can remember. Seen a lot, ya know? Lost a lot too. I think for a moment he thought it all over as you came up to us, got the better of him."

Ralis held the man's gaze as he finished and then lowered his eyes to the ground, unsure how to respond. Theo continued. "You saved us, and trust me without you I wouldn't be here right now. We all owe you and know it. Don't think you're not appreciated, guardians are like the stories of legend. I mean…what you did back there? That was something more than any fairytale I've heard. And now? You're with us! We'll get outta here much easier with you."

He wished to be so optimistic. "Thanks. I'm glad you said something."

"I felt like one of us needed to."

"I don't feel much like a legend to be honest, just a regular chump given a strange gift." Ralis sighed.

"Like it or not, you're our hero. I never knew what a guardian would be like, you seem like one of us, don't look too much older than me. It's…humbling." Theo sat in silence for a while with him, looking at the data pad in his hands. Ralis didn't wish to be rude and start logging his thoughts with the other man present.

Theo gestured to the meat Ralis had been eating. "Looks like you got one of the last."

"Last?"

Theo nodded. "I don't know how they worked, but we've had these food synthesizers for the longest time. Takes the littlest of things and be able to turn it into food. It kept our little town alive. All these years of moving and hiding and they began to break down. Our last few were destroyed by the scavengers when they attacked. Not going to be any more of that anytime soon."

Ralis held out the food. "I'm not hungry, you can have it."

"No, everyone gets a fair portion. That's how it's always been."

"We had a similar rule too." Ralis said, finishing the piece in his hands.

"We?" Theo asked, leaning in.

"My clan…from before. Sorry, it's still hard to believe their all gone." Ralis paused, "Did Bishop talk to you about that?"

"You're little friend? The Ghost?" When he nodded, Theo continued. "Yeah I asked him about you. I didn't know guardians used to be dead. Not trying to bring up the past."

"It's fine. Do you know where Bishop is?"

"He's with Victor now," Theo answered. "Said he's found something. I don't know what, but they left and I know not to follow. You should go talk to them."

Ralis sat back against the hard wall and stretched. How long had he been by himself here? Groggily he sat up, saving his current entry and setting the pad down. "Okay, can you guide me?"

Theo led the way back, glow stick in hand down the dark service tunnels. He had hidden in many like it before, this one appeared to be an old storm drain of sorts. The tunnels were short and circular and he had to walk hunched over to avoid scraping his head on the ceiling. It smelt, but pleasant smells out in the wild were hard to come by. Baths too. Discomfort and filth were a status quo in his past nomadic life. He sighed inward to himself, wishing he was writing the thought down; however, Bishop finding something sounded important. The pair navigated the tunnel for a short while, passing other survivors huddled together in the larger main tunnel. Ralis could feel their gaze on him, even partially shrouded by shadows as they were. Theo backtracked them down the way they had first entered the service system and stopped at a tunnel in the wall.

Theo gestured into the opening, "Best I don't go, Vic' might get mad at me."

"Thanks again." Ralis said and clasped hands with the young man. "Remind me to ask you about that gun you gave me. I have no idea how to use it."

Theo chuckled and nodded, turning away from the crevice. Holding his orange light ahead of him, Ralis crawled into the smaller tunnel and slowly made his way forward. Thankfully it wasn't too tight of a squeeze for the titan. It curved slightly upwards and he made his way to the end with moonlight lighting up an old ladder. He heard two voices come from the top as he climbed the ladder.

"I don't know," he heard Victor mused. "Don't you think-"

Ralis emerged from the hatch to the star painted night sky over head, visible through a hole in the ceiling. Victor sat nearby on the steps of an incline, Bishop hovering nearby. His Ghost turned to look at him while Victor was already rising.

"-Oh, it's you." The man finished.

"Is something wrong?" Bishop asked.

Ralis shook his head, "I heard you found something."

"Oh, well yes, I did indeed." The Ghost emitted a soft blue from its center and projected out blue light from his eye, forming a grid pattern that looked like a map. "Specifically, I found a Skiff."

* * *

The Skiff in question rested in the middle of a bridge over a lake to the east, the rising sun seeming to dance in the reflection of the water. Old decaying signs near the crossing read: _Glienicker Brücke._ Great circular stone pillars supported the structure from the bottom, disappearing into the water. The metal framing and supports along the sides and top were rusted with age. Along the bridge were the remnants of automobiles like a maze. Bishop had rummaged through the remains of the shot down Skiffs at the manor and found a navigational system still intact which revealed the Fallens' nearby operations. The Ghost had found a refueling point that also functioned as a blockade. The current city ruins they dwelled in was surrounded by bodies of water and the bridges were the only way out on foot. That or try to swim and risk supplies while being vulnerable to ambush. Instead, they did the unexpected. They planned to leave from the sky.

The House of Devils were spread thin in the dead zone, but responded quickly to threats in their territory. The devils around the skiff numbered little, but that wouldn't last for long. Ralis walked towards the bridge casually, as if he were on an evening stroll in the countryside, alone. He nonchalantly patted the front end of his rustic shotgun into his hand, the weapon now slightly familiar in his grip. The Fallen watched him approached in bewilderment, moving across the bridge towards its westward end and taking up positions. Ralis still just walked, humming an improvised tune that sounded familiar that he allowed his helmet speakers to emit. The devils growled and made noises as they aimed various weapons at him. None fired. Had they heard of what happened at the manor? One vandal rose from cover and aimed a long rifle at him, its tip glowing blue as it primed to fire. The shot rang out with an electric sounding _phew_ and hit him squarely in the chest in a blink. Ralis stumbled a little as his shield dropped greatly but still held. He continued to walk calmly towards the bridge. The vandal growled out something in its language and primed another shot to fire.

 _Crack._

The vandals head vanished in a blur of its blood and white gaseous essence, its body slumping over and falling backwards. The devils roared and looked at him and then around at the buildings trying to find where the shot had come from. Some fired blindly into empty windows, a few bolts of blue energy were flung towards him and missed. He hadn't fired and that was unnerving the Fallen, especially because he still was walking towards them. Another shot fired and a dreg fell as its essence fled the corpse. Then another. The devils took cover, some shooting blindly over the cars. This was what he wanted. Ralis began to run, his hand producing a blue orb of Light that he flung over the cars. The force of the explosion flung a car over to its side, as well as what remained of a few devils into the air. The rest howled as the bright blast presumably blinded them for the moment. The titan ran towards the line of cover and jumped, the air around his back and legs distorting with a hiss as he Lifted himself higher into the air with his Light. It had taken him a few attempts with Bishop, but eventually Ralis learned how to control it.

He descended upon the scavengers with a loud thud as his boots landed on the concrete. A dreg rubbed at its eyes with one arm and fired its pistol wildly into the air at nothing. He pointed his weapon at the creature and fired. The kick on the gun was surprising yet he controlled it, giving it a pump and expelling a spent shell to the ground to join the fresh corpse. Ralis moved among the stunned Fallen almost rhythmically, dispatching them with a spray of pellets. A vandal sluggishly came at him with a shock sabre. He stepped forward into the attacks arc and blocked the creature's arms with one of his own, the free one brought the shotgun up against its chest and pulled the trigger.

 _Click._

No slugs left. He dropped the weapon temporarily and brought his fist to bare against the devils chest instead, its body disappearing in a bright flash of blue arc light. Most of the Fallen were recovering from the blindness as he picked up and loaded the shotgun, retreating back towards the bridge as they fired weapons in all directions.

He heard Victor shout something in German. The armed forces of the survivors came rushing out of the buildings behind him, roaring a battle cry. A few shots came from windows and harassed the retreating Fallen, one in particular he knew was Theo, who was praised as a superb marksmen. Ralis charged after the retreating enemy, doing his best to draw the majority of the fire. They outnumbered the creatures greatly and the Skiff wasn't currently active to fire upon them. The devils were attempting to change that. The craft began to hum loudly and glow a dark red at the head of the ship. He charged directly in the Fallens' new defensive line, killing those directly in his way and ignoring the others as he flung himself up into one of the holes on the bottom end of the ships tail. It was a tight fit as Ralis hoisted himself into the Skiff and crawled towards the front of the craft. Two seated vandals turned to face him in surprise as he drew his shock sabre and dispatched them, careful not to harm the crafts systems.

"Here you go." Ralis said as he brought Bishop out inside the cockpit.

The Ghost buzzed around, surveying the consoles and glowing displays. "This could take a few minutes." Bishop said as he began to scan a screen.

Ralis could heard the fighting continue outside as Victor's forces mopped up the remaining Fallen. "We'll give you as long as we can." He said as he left and crawled back outside to help. A dreg stood nearby, hesitantly looking up at skiff as he dropped out, shrieking as it was blasted away. The remaining devils were dealt with and the loud commotion was followed by a heavy silence. Ralis Lifted gently up onto the roof of a truck and looked back down the bridge towards the survivors and waved them forward. A brief loud cheer sounded from them as they rushed up.

Victor was barking a few orders with a crooked grin on his face as he looked towards the titan, his large revolver still trailing smoke. Soon from the other side those that weren't armed and the children crossed onto the bridge, looking frightened at what remained of the devils scattered about. Bishop had figured out some minor controls for the ship by then and the tail end of the craft lowered its bottom portion with the holes downward, forming a ramp. It was going to be a tight squeeze for all of them, but he imagined the drive for survival would outweigh the discomfort. Anything that wasn't essential for them had been left behind and anything that was had to be carried.

"Any losses?" he asked Victor.

The man shook his head. "Just a few wounded, I'm going to get them on the thing next to be treated." Victor pulled out an antenna on his radio and spoke an order Ralis didn't understand. Slowly the survivors funneled their way over and began to board the skiff. A few nodded to him in thanks as they passed, as if he alone were responsible for what was happening. He couldn't blame them. Being a guardian was constantly surprising him as well. A loud alarm sounded from Victor's radio and a panicked call rang out from the other side. Victor yelled something back and called out an order to those around him.

"What's happening, Victor?"

"The scavengers, they come."

A loud boom sounded, heralding the arrival of another skiff. It floated in the air to the west, far out of range as it lowered to the ground to drop off troops. The Devils weren't risking any more skiffs after the survivors had shot two down with shoulder mounted launchers, with another also taken down by his Light. What were they planning? The survivors bunkered down across the bridge, aiming down the street in silence as they waited. Another boom sounded, then another. Skiffs broke high speed flight and slowed to land out of sight behind the ruined buildings. A few minutes later there was a boom behind them on the bridge and another fallen ship lowered itself to the cover of buildings on their rear flank to the east. That wasn't good. More orders were shouted. He wanted to charge into the bulk of the Fallen, but with Bishop busy learning the skiffs controls, that didn't seem wise.

"Bishop?" He asked in his helmet.

The Ghosts voice sounded over their personal radio link. _"Little busy here."_

"We're running out of time! How much longer is it going to be?"

 _"Well,_ _seeing as I don't have the faintest clue on how to fly this thing,"_ Bishop paused in consideration. _"I have no idea."_

Ralis cursed to himself. "We're surrounded by Fallen, I want to help fight but you're not with me."

 _"Then fight, but don't be reckless. This ship doesn't get off the ground without me. I'm glad those Fallen turned this thing on because I might not have gotten that far."_

Frustrated, he grabbed Victors arm to get the man's attention. "Bishop needs more time. We'll have to hold. What do you want me to do?"

Before the man could answer, red flying drones with orange lights appeared over the rooftops on the western side, flying towards the bridge like arrows. The survivors began to fill the air with tracers at what Bishop had called shanks. The drones returned fire and their blue energy bolts pelted the bridge. One bolt found its mark and a man screamed as it struck him. The shanks crumbled from the air when hit just a few times, exploding on their way down and raining down flaming remains.

"Their feeling us out, probing." Victor said to the titan. "I'll have Theo and the marksmen harass and cover the rear. The majority of them are to the west so that's where ours will be as well. Help them."

After the last of the Shanks were shot down, he was handed a rifle by a wounded solider shortly afterwards by Victors command with only the briefest explanation of how to use it. It could fire in full auto or single burst and had a thirty-two round magazine size. With the longer reaching weapon in hand, he moved down the bridge towards the western end and heard the Fallen cry out down the road. It was risky being at the front, but he could take a few hits before hiding. They couldn't. He strode passed the hunkered down survivors that looked at him anxiously. Ralis stood at the entrance of the bridge and gazed down the road as all sound, save for the hum of their skiff, seemed to vanish. Nothing happened for much longer than he liked. Then the devils charged. The Fallen came roaring into view down the road in alarming numbers much larger than from the manor. Some appeared on the rooftops to his sides as more shanks floated into view.

His first instinct at the sight was to run before the surging horde, but he stopped himself at the first step backwards he had taken. If he ran, the others would break. With that in mind, Ralis did something even he thought foolish. He ran. Towards the Fallen. He hurled his Light towards the devils charging from the street with a roar that was followed by a bright flash. Victor's men roared as well as they fired into the Fallen. He Lifted upwards to the buildings and greeted the surprised vandals he met atop the roof with a spray of bullets. One struggled on the ground and he brought his boot forcefully down on the creature to still it permanently. Another pack of Fallen across fired at him, making his shields flicker. He went to a knee as Theo had showed him and toggled the rifle to single shot. He missed a great deal of shots but his shields won out in the exchange against the vandals that fell lifelessly from the roof.

He ejected the empty clip and awkwardly slammed a new one in place just in time to shoot a passing shank down. More Fallen began to climb up the sides of buildings towards him as the rest surged down the street. The last rocket Victors men had raced out from the bridge and slammed into the horde. His ears rung loudly as the force of the explosion shook him. He added to the chaos and flung another ball of his Light down into the ranks.

 _"I'm making progress."_ Bishop radioed. _"Weapons are almost online, engines are warming up. A few more minutes I think."_

"Don't tell me, tell Victor." He snapped, firing down at a dreg close to pulling itself to him.

 _"Right."_

Ralis hoped the others were okay. He stole a glance at the bridge as he took cover to reload. The devils on the other side hadn't made much progress against Theo's team and that brought a brief moment of solace to the titan. That was shattered as a captain flung itself up next to him, shrapnel launcher glowing angrily. He let the rifle fall and hang from its strap as he drew the shotgun. A blast from the launcher grazed his shields and he returned with a blast of his own weapon, breaking the captains blue radiance. It recoiled from the force and couldn't recover before he pumped another shell and fired into its chest. Another dreg that climbed over met the same fate. The devils seemed endless. Ralis felt his Light build back up again and hurled another blast of Light down for good measure. The roof granted him a fair amount of safety while still drawing an equal amount of attention. It was hard to ignore a Zeus seeming figure hurling bolts like lightning down at you. Through the chaos he began to hear something loud coming down the road.

Bishop suddenly cried out in success, _"Almost done! Ral, get back here now."_

"Okay." He started hesitantly. "They've got something big coming. I can hear it."

 _"Walker!"_ his Ghost cried in alarm.

"A what?"

Bishop groaned. _"Tank! It's a tank for them! Get back here now!"_

The survivors began to pull back towards the skiff, some firing to cover the retreat. The noise like heavy steps grew louder and he could begin to feel soft tremors. Soon a six legged mechanical monstrosity appeared around the corner, colored like the shanks with a similar glowing light pattern at the front as well. At the bottom of the machines 'head' was what looked like a gatling gun. It was small compared to the main canon it carried on its back that sported a rocket pod on the side. The walker would blow the skiff to pieces if they waited on him to get back to flee.

"Bishop, you'll need to leave without me." He said solemnly.

 _"What!?"_

"That thing is going to shoot you down. Load everyone up and get the fuck out of here, now!"

 _"Not without you."_ Bishop said defiantly.

Ralis gritted his teeth in the helmet. "Do it. I'm not risking their lives for me."

That seemed to baffle the Ghost. _"You're more important than them! You're my guardian, I can't leave you! You're priceless, we need you."_

"Don't you dare value me more over them! I don't care what I am, they're important too! They're what we fight for. I won't lose my humanity thinking like that. The City could use all of them much better than me."

The walker opened compartments on its sides and spewed forth a squadron of shanks into the air. He fired at the drones and shot a few down. Weapons along the spider like tank began to glow blue as they charged and Ralis shot at the thing to get its attention. The gatling gun angled towards him and began to fire a swarm of blue arc energy at him. Ralis had to Lift to another roof to avoid the collapse of the one he had previously stood on.

 _"Please, Ral."_ Bishop pleaded.

"Leave! Find another guardian if you can, but get them the hell out of here!" he cried out, shooting down another shank.

A red targeting line appeared from above the walker's main cannon and pointed directly at the skiff with the survivors still climbing aboard. Ralis frantically willed another unstable charge of his Light and hurled it at the tank like he did with the Fallen ship. It bounced off the top of the tank and detonated, sending a brief wave of arc energy coursing through its systems. The targeting laser lowered as the walker shook violently and stumbled, firing a shot from its cannon much lower than intended and hitting the devils in front of it.

"I've got you covered, Bishop! I'm turning off our radio, get out now!"

- _Radio: Mute_ appeared in his helmet display before the Ghost could protest. The now loaded skiff raised its ramp and floated slowly in the air. A red line attempted to track the craft but it flew forward with a loud _boom_ and raced out of sight. Ralis watched with a sad smile. Ideally he could escape the dead zone, find a way to the city and meet them all again. First he had to survive and without his Ghost, that seemed an impossible task. He turned too late to see the walkers red laser looking right at the building he was atop. The titan tried to Lift up in time but was caught in the blast that flung him spiraling into the air, shields barely holding. He fell into the streets, landing hard as alarms in his suit sounded. Groggily he rose to his feet with the walker no more than ten yards away, guns aimed right at him. Fallen swarmed around him from every side, howling as they approached. There he stood, surrounded by devils and alone. A light surrounded by darkness. A flame in the night. He had accepted death before, strangely enough he was used to it now. One more death was all he had now and at least he could die knowing he had helped those in need.

They surrounded him but did not fire, and he dared not shoot to encourage them. Did they fear his Light after the manor? They had rushed him in a similar way before he slammed the ground full of Light. That source of Light in particular hadn't built back up at the moment but they didn't know that. A loud voice sounded behind him and Ralis turned. The largest captain he had ever seen approached, easily a foot or two taller than him. With its ornate armor and sigil patterns, the devil looked the part of nobility. Its launcher had three mouths of flame and sported an even more intimidating appearance with larger spikes along with the sheer size of the weapon. The noble had the weapon leveled at him as it spoke in its tongue to the devils around it. Did it want the killing blow? Maybe if this Fallen was a noble it had some shred of honor. It was unlikely, but Ralis turned towards the lumbering captain and did something rather foolish again. He tossed his weapons off to the side. Slowly he pointed towards the noble, then to himself, then to the ground between them. A challenge to a duel. Something a knight would do.

The other devils gurgled in their language and looked around at each other before settling their gaze on the captain who watched the titan stoically. Under that creatures gaze, he tried not to tremble as his life hung in those moments on this devils decision. It looked to its troops and roared out something. They all began to step backwards, putting space between the two. The challenge had been accepted and the arena now set. The noble tossed its launcher to the side and stepped forward, brandishing a single shock sabre. Ralis drew his own and ignited the arc current with the blade. The two began to slowly circle each other in the battle scared street, gazes locked as the devils around all roared for his demise. He let their cries fuel his anger. His opponent roared as it lunged towards him much quicker than he expected. The parry he attempted failed miserably as the strength of the noble overpowered his block and struck him. He was flung backwards but not off balance, shields flickering low. The creature charged again before he had recovered, sabre in two hands as it swung to kill.

He Lifted over the captain and sliced at its head in the same motion. The blow glanced off the blue light around the devil but caused it to stumble. Landing beside his opponent, Ralis stabbed his sabre into the captain's shield, breaking through and piercing its side. It roared in pain and back handed him violently with two hands to send him tumbling to the ground. The devil twitched from the arc energy that flicked through it, but soon was recovered with the blue light now surrounding it. Ralis cursed and scrambled to his feet in time to dodge another savage attack. The blows came too quick for him to recover from the previous one. The noble was too skilled, too fast. It was all he could do just to stay alive against the devil. That was when he realized the futility of his efforts. Even if he beat this beast, he couldn't just challenge every Fallen here to a duel, they'd more likely just gun him down like an execution.

He was going to die. That was fine. Ralis stopped trying to dodge his opponent's attacks and adopted a new tactic. He fought like a dead man. With a roar he flung his sabre forcefully at the advancing noble, slamming into its shield with a flash before falling to the ground. The captain flinched in surprise at the blow and was beginning to steady itself as he charged. His fist glowed angrily with Arc Light and he leapt up in the air, using the downward momentum to add more force into his punch. The noble swung its blade as he flung his fist, both weapons colliding with their targets at the same time. He gladly took the hit to his shields. It noble took the blow on his face, breaking through the shield easily and releasing a torrent of his Light into the creature. It roared and stumbled backwards from the heavy blow, its helmet dented on the side he punched.

"That was for my friends!" He cried as he tackled the monster to the ground and leapt atop of it, fists raining down on the stunned creature. It attempted to swing its sabre at him and Ralis grabbed the attacking arm and bent it till it broke. The captain roared in pain, Ralis in anger. "That was for my parents!" His blows rained down on the creatures head and soon its resistance stopped as it drifted into unconsciousness. In most normal duels this would be over. This wasn't one of those. Ralis punched the devils head a few more times before he grabbed the respirator tubes connected to the dented helmet and tore them off, a hissing sound coming from the creatures armor. "And this, you sons of bitches, is for me!" His fingers slid to the sides of the captain's head and gripped tightly. He sat up with one foot on the noble's chest and pulled with a savage roar, ripping the head off. He continued his cry, holding the head in one hand as he displayed it for the others to see, speakers amplifying his savage roar. The now deceased noble's army shouted back in protest, brandishing weapons as the walker's weapons began to charge with a hum. Ralis continued to roar defiantly, lungs burning with the effort as he held the head for all of them to see. He was ready.

 _Boom._

A skiff skirted into view over the rooftops over the tank, weapons glowing. The canons bombed the tank from above as a compartment in the ship opened, spewing forth tiny glowing metallic orbs that bounced and exploded, killing multiple fallen around the area. Under the bombardment, an alarm sounded on the walker as it collapsed to the ground and withdrew its armored front section to expose a glowing core. Energy pulsed from the core throughout the walker's body, restoring power to the systems. Anger still flowed through him and the Light followed. Ralis dropped the head and ran towards the downed machine, shield flickering as shots splashed against him that didn't stop the titan in motion. The devils frantically shot at the skiff more so than him. He Lifted up above the tank and let the Light he needed consume him once again to an unbearable level. It filled him and glowed brightly as he brought his arms over head into fist. The weight of the Light carried him downward from the Lift and he fell towards the core of the tank. Light exploded out from his hands as he slammed the glowing orb, overloading it instantly. The alarm on the machine grew louder as parts of it began to blow off, its inner systems overloading and becoming unstable. Ralis hurled himself upwards and Lifted, the skiff still floating above him. The explosion from the walker below only served to help propel him towards the ship, suits alarms blaring as his hands wrapped around one of the metal bars hanging next to the now closed exit holes. For a moment he dangled there, then he lost sense of himself as his vision blurred. With a soft _wooshing_ sound, the titan materialized within the skiff and thudded dizzily to the ground.

 _Boom._

He felt the ship fly forwards at high speed once again and struggled to not be flung around. Once he gained his composure and vision, Ralis looked around to see all the survivors around him. They cheered happily, those near him clapping his armor in admiration and smiles. He looked to the cockpit to see his Ghost, showering lights of blue from its eyes on a panel to adjust something. Then it turned to look at him.

"You shouldn't have cut the radio off." It said.

"I thought you wouldn't leave otherwise." He replied.

"You left me no choice," Bishop retorted.

Ralis shook his head, "It was the only choice. You saw, that cannon would have blasted you to pieces." The Ghost floated silently, its geometry squinting together as it looked down, ashamed. "Why did you come back? That was dangerous, you still put everyone at risk."

"No," the Ghost started. "I was doing what you said."

"Why are you here then?"

Bishoped paused, looking at the others before answering. "Theo asked why we were leaving you. I told him, even played back the conversation for everyone to hear. I said I wouldn't go back and risk them trying to save you, not with that walker there. That's when he asked everyone aboard if they would protest if we came back for you. Not a single person did."

Ralis looked to Theo, bloodied and resting against a wall, grinning even in pain. Slowly the titan looked at the others around him, all staring back silently in gratitude with smiles. _Not a single person did._ Even at the notion of death, the children agreed to jump back in harm's way for him.

Maybe it was just his previous life as a liability and a cripple that made him cynical at such decisions, but he found it hard to form words as what Bishop had said echoed in his mind. He could only manage to ask them all one, "Why?"

Victor answered from in the back, "We'd be dead without you. If we died trying to save you, it was our choice with the life you gave us. We owed you something, and I for damn sure wanted you paid in full."

In that moment he was glad his helmet was still on so they all couldn't see the tears in his eyes.


	8. Chapter 6

Belvaa awoke in a cold sweat, sitting straight up in wide eyed alarm. Another vision. Of _him._ How many years it had been since the last one she couldn't recall. So much had happened since then. The titan had become a lost thought of no significance that she assumed dead. Despite the amount of time in between the visions, this new one appeared to take place relatively close in time to the previous one. Now she had no questions about when that time would be. That guardian and those refugees were alive and aboard that skiff at this very moment, on their way to the City. Though she of course was pleased by that outcome, Belvaa felt a chill coursing through her. Two remarkably clear visions. Of the same guardian. What could this mean? Shaken, she rose from her bed, still exhausted from yesterday's late night bout in the crucible. Often she had trouble sleeping, nightmares from her past battles haunting her no matter how long ago. Ironically, she found peace in combat. At least in the crucible it was against her peers, even though there was no holding back and they killed each other. Ghost resurrection rendered that a possibility and she appreciated the means to train and vent simultaneously, even joke with the others she fought after the game. The crucible was strangely calming. After dying a few times it could be exhausting to the point she could fall asleep. Sometimes the exhaustion led to a pleasant dreamless rest. A rare treat.

Belvaa geared up quickly despite her fatigue. Wisp was more than likely up and about the City by now, strangely social for a Ghost. Though it wouldn't be necessary to be armed and in full gear, she, like many other guardians, found it comforting. Like a second skin. She slipped her Silvered Kín SR5 model scout rifle over her shoulder, locking it into place on the back of her relatively new robes, the highest award her order could bestow, the Heart of the Praxic Fire. She usually went without her helm, but today she donned it in her panic to get ready. A fallen skiff couldn't just approach the City without some form of problems. Even if they could get a signal through, who knew how the Vanguard would react? She had to get to the hangar. Belvaa slammed the door to her room shut as she bolted down the hall to the nearest elevator, startling a few people as she passed. A frame pushing a grav cart full of materials nearly fell over as she sprinted by the automaton into an open elevator. Slowly along the tower the lift climbed while her thoughts turned to the vision. The exact nature of the viewings was still a mystery to her and she still wondered of their significance. Awoken always had strange dreams that meant nothing more than one a human would have. Some rare warlocks, however, could have visions without the process of thanatonautics. Were they just of random happenstance? Something significant? If so, why had she not dreamed of Twilight Gap beforehand, or The Great Disaster?

The ascent was stopped as others climbed aboard, selecting their various floor destinations and stopping once those were reached. She sighed impatiently, going to the top always took the longest. Taking the stairs wasn't pleasant either. The silence on the climb to the top was only broken by the occasional message played over the tower intercom or conversation she ignored. Once at the top, she exited into the Hall of Guardians. Belvaa took the stairs upwards two steps at a time into the plaza, passing guardians and citizens alike. The plaza gave a magnificent view of the Traveler and City, both bathed in the rising suns light. The sight wasn't enjoyed by the warlock in her haste as it usually would have. She had no clue if the skiff was near, just that it was en route. Tower docking procedure wasn't something she was familiar with. Briefly she had obtained a Regulus class jump-ship that's ruins now rested in a lake on Venus. Prideful as she could be, flying wasn't a strong suite and she thought it wise to not invest in another ship for now. Wisp mainly handled the docking procedures and she cursed inwardly at herself for not having him with her. Calling him through the suits comm would be useless with the channel likely off again. The Ghost liked his privacy sometimes.

Belvaa ran into the hangar, breathing heavily from the effort. Looking around revealed nothing out of place. Engineers on the ground floor near the large docking bay worked torches on idle ships while frames carried around an assortment of parts or tended terminals. The warlock slowed her pace to a walk to catch her breath and began to make her way towards the shipwright. Amanda Holiday stood over a bench with schematics in front of her, tapping a tool idly to herself. Her hair was blonde and matted, coming almost her shoulders. Her face and arms had splotches of grease on them, some almost blending in with the strange tattoo that covered her right shoulder and became smaller dark lines the longer it went down. The woman pulled the goggles down from her green eyes down to hang over the red scarf around her neck as she examined the document below her closer. Her artificial leg tapped slowly on the metal grating, making a soft _clinking_ sound amongst the much louder tools echoing in the hangar. Near a large orange screen sat a technician clad in an orange jumpsuit and visor, monitoring incoming traffic and ship status. She passed a hunter tinkering with a disassembled sparrow while climbing the steps towards the two.

"Holiday, there's something urgent." She stated, still out of breath.

"Whoa, hey," the shipwright started as if annoyed, "It's just one thing after another today ain't it?" She turned, crossing her arms together, that strange human accent of hers as strong as ever. "Look, unless it's really important, can it wait a sec? I've had a warp drive on a Misfit just meltdown and almost dissolve its holdin' bay."

"There's a fallen skiff on its way to the City."

A freckled cheek of the woman rose in a strange frown. "That so? I haven't heard nothin', how 'bout you, Connor?"

The technician next to her shook his head as he worked, "No ma'am."

"I promise you, it's coming. I don't know when, but it is." Belvaa pleaded. "It has refugees on it."

Holiday sighed, turning to a panel on her workbench and opening up a channel. It took a few seconds before the request was accepted. "Hey, Cayde? I got a question for ya. There's a warlock here sayin' there's a fallen skiff flying towards the City. Nothings popped up for us, know anything 'bout it?"

A voice sounded over the comm. _"A fallen skiff? Hm, I don't know. Can you describe it to me in great detail?"_

"Ya know, those things that shot down your ships all the time? The ones that I had to fix or scrap?"

Cayde chuckled, _"Oh I walked right into that one. Can't say I have. If there was, I imagine there would be-"_

The large orange screen pulsated and flashed a red color in quiet alarm as a circular mark appeared.

 _"-something popping up on our scans."_

Connor turned towards the screen, tapping a few commands as he obscured the view. Holiday glanced back at Belvaa, eyebrows raised in a questioning stare.

The technician spoke. "Ma'am, it's not just a skiff. I'm picking up more than a dozen signatures about to enter our airspace."

"What?!" Belvaa said in surprise.

Connor slid in his chair to the side. The lone dot still floated on towards their location, but a swarm of others now appeared on screen chasing after it.

 _"Uhh, hang on a sec."_ Cayde said.

There was a sound of movement over the comm before another voice spoke. _"This is Commander Zavala, what's happening?"_

"Bogies nearing our airspace, sir." Connor repeated as he worked, Holiday now standing over his shoulder. "Dozens of signals, all fallen in design. There seems to be a pack…chasing after one of their own."

"It's not theirs!" Belvaa interjected.

"Scan 'em inside if you can, Con." Holiday ordered.

The technician hit inputs frantically as the screen pulsated, different bars rising and falling in analysis of the signals. "Can confirm. Fallen on the chasing craft, none on the one that is running."

 _"Could they be using a cloak?"_ Zavala asked.

Holiday rubbed the side of her chin as she studied the screen. "It's a possibility."

A notification appeared on screen that Belvaa couldn't read. Connor turned to look up at Holiday. "I'm getting a channel code request from the ship, it's outdated by many years."

 _"Their servitors could have cracked open a dead Ghost to obtain those. It might be a ruse to deliver explosives right into the tower, or possibly some other kind of attack."_

As of late, the worst always seemed to be assumed. Belvaa stepped towards the comm. "Commander, this is Belvaa Mer, disciple of the Praxic Warlocks, marked by the Cormorant Seal. I've had a vision of this, that skiff is full of refugees with a guardian. I swear onto it. Please, let the signal through."

 _"A vision?"_ Zavala paused over the comm. _"Are you certain?"_

"Yes, sir." She answered without hesitation.

 _"Open the channel, we'll ready the guns. Holiday, scramble ships to intercept. Just in case."_

"Aye, sir." The shipwright said as she lifted up a data pad and spoke orders into it. A docked FotC ship began to start its engines while crew members rushed to it. The Forces of the City were comprised mainly of non-guardians who also protected the City, either by acting as a police force to enforce laws, a militia to defend against attacks, or operate turrets and ships. Just because normal people didn't have Ghosts didn't mean they couldn't fight. Belvaa respected them. Nearby a large kestrel class ship also began to power on as well, wings brimming with cannons and rocket pods.

Connor tapped a command and adjusted his headset. "This is tower control, you are approaching City airspace in a hostile aircraft. Identify yourself."

 _"We're through!"_ A Ghost said over the signal, static in the background. _"This is Bishop, designated Ghost for newborn guardian: Ralis. We have survivors of the settlement Rhine aboard with wounded and children. Fallen in pursuit after we acquired their skiff. Requesting you send help! Their gaining."_

"Ghost Bishop, you're channel priority code is outdated. As per protocol: _Clear Skies_ , we need confirmation that-"

Connor was interrupted by another voice over the static that Belvaa recognized as the titan. _"-I don't give a damn about his code or your protocol!"_ he screamed in anger. _"I've got kids in here and people in need of medical attention with devils shooting at us! We don't have time for this!"_

The technician was taken aback, "We still have to make sure that-"

 _"You're about to have the blood of dozens of people on your hands! They have not come this far to die because of you! We need help! Is someone else listening? I can't do this myself, but would you please shove your fist so far up this man's ass that you can knock some sense into him!?"_

Slowly, Connor's head turned to look up at Holiday, the expression on his face priceless. She tried to hide her smirk and looked towards her workbench panel. "Zavala?"

There was a pause. _"Guardian, this is Commander Zavala of the City Vanguard. Help is on the way."_

Belvaa breathed a heavy sigh of relief in her helmet.

* * *

Walking had been strange for Ralis. Flying had been even worse. Over the course of Bishop dodging the other skiffs in pursuit, the titan had found himself fighting the sensation of emptying his stomach numerous times. He held on for dear life to avoid bouncing around inside the ship as Bishop evaded enemy fire. There was a thunderous roar at the arrival of aid. A flight of City aircraft intercepted the squadron of devil troopships, breaking fast flight for attack speed as they fired weapons. Two of the fallen ships ignited in a blaze instantly. The skiffs chase was over. Unable to catch their prey, those that remained began to bank away and retreat. Some of the City ships chased after the dropships, the rest fell in besides the skiff and slowed to escort. From there the rest of the journey was much more pleasant. The others aboard began to celebrate. Some with happy tears, others with broad smiles as they tried to peek out any opening to see the other craft. Friends, neighbors, and comrades all rejoiced with those next to them. Those that were wounded were tended to in high spirits. While Ralis was more than happy at their celebration, he couldn't help but feel out of place among them. They weren't his clan or family, yet he felt as if he could call them comrades. Maybe friends. He made the best of the internal awkwardness and enjoyed the positive energy in their celebrations.

Some began to chant a song in their language while others just hummed to the rhythm. Ralis turned from them looked out the cockpit window. The jagged tops of snow covered mountains jutted up from below as they flew. He had to turn away and fight the urge of vomiting again. The height was unnerving, the speed sickening. Another strange new sensation for him to experience. If his nausea could be suppressed, the sight would have been breathtaking. The dizziness and pressure in his ears were getting the better of the titan. He focused his gaze up towards the sky and to the escorts nearby. Amidst the celebrations, Bishop had been engaging in an undiscernible conversation with one of the pilots. They flew without incident and it wasn't too long before they arrived at the City. The descent had been rough and Ralis had to keep his head down to make it through the landing. Once they began slowing, he swung his head up again to the window once more. A large tower stood before him, the biggest structure he had even seen. It seemed to rise to the heavens at a slight slant, brimming with lights and windows along the shaft that had two pairs of large parallel cables running down to the ground below. At the top it housed an array of structures and openings like its own miniature city. They approached what he could only assume was the hangar and began to dock.

They entered a large, high ceiling area covered in machinations he couldn't hope to understand. Large ships lay within, some on the ground and others hoisted in the air by cranes. Fumes of gas floated out from multiple pipelines lined throughout the hangar, giving the docking floor a slight cloud of mist. People wearing orange suits scurried out of the way of their ship. A few waved bright glowing rods in a pattern as if beckoning. Carefully the skiff inched forward into the bay, easily the largest and most awkward craft compared to the others. Bishop handled it very well and lowered the ship slowly to the ground. When he killed the engines the survivors began to murmur in excitement and shuffled about in their crowded space, carefully bringing forward the wounded. Bishop began to lower the ramp down and retracted his beam of light on the controls.

The Ghost sighed, "That was easily the most nerve racking thing I've ever done."

Ralis struggled for a moment before getting his helmet off. "I've lost count how many times I've thought that in the past few days."

Bishop chuckled as the ramp continued to lower, rays of bright light shining through the opening in the back compartment. "Ralis, I'm sorry. I fear I haven't been the greatest Ghost."

"I certainly wasn't the greatest guardian."

"Well at first," Bishop agreed. "But no one ever is. Some come back better than others at the start, but in time that changes."

 _You will grow._ Ralis thought with a smile. "It was rough. For both of us. I think you did well, especially with all the others. You helped them in ways I couldn't, found us a ship, flew the damn thing. None of us could have done that. I'm just glad I didn't retch with my helmet still on."

The ramp stopped with a bang that echoed throughout the hangar. Slowly the survivors began to funnel out and were greeted by tower personale of varying uniforms. Some wore the orange jumpsuits, others looked to be medical officers clad in white with badges depicting a pattern in red. Towards the back were armed security forces, weapons at ease as they surveyed those exiting. Some weren't even human. Robotic assistants wheeled up stretchers that floated off the ground and helped assist the medics with the wounded.

Bishop looked to him. "We did it."

Joy filled him with a prickly warm sensation in his chest. Ralis nodded in agreement as he watch what remained of the Rhine survivors exit the skiff. He couldn't help but imagine them as his own clan, picturing what it would have been like if they had successfully made the pilgrimage to the Promised Land. _The City_ , he corrected mentally. Ralis descended after them out into the hangar. He was greeted by scores of people all in chaotic motion. Some of the medics were moving the wounded off while others began to give casual checks to the rest. Probably more protocols of theirs. Some of the survivors were weeping with joy and hugging each other or the tower personale. Ralis caught sight of something through the chaos and walked forward, towards the hangar opening. A few others had seen it before him and started outwards in amazement, a few on their knees as if worshipping. A great orb that could have passed for a small moon hovered above in the air as it shadowed a sprawling metropolis down below. Orange clouds hung around the still giant from the sunrise, giving the white shell of the orb a similar hue. It appeared to have faint circular patterns along its smooth white surface that were hard to see from the distance. Towards the bottom the celestial giant had gouges and cracks that revealed a dark under layer that looked mechanical in nature, like the frame of a structure.

Ralis stared in awe at the Traveler of the first time. It hovered over the Last City of humanity as a guardian all its own. His parents had been right. It was real. If there was a paradise on earth, it had to be here. The sight was overwhelming. All the destruction he had witnessed, the suffering and cruelty of both humans and fallen alike, the scattered remains of the Golden Age. The world was full of darkness. Yet this monument to light and life before him existed. It was as if for the first time he had experienced true goodness in the world. His eyes began to water.

 _If only they could have seen…_

He was embraced by a woman suddenly. It was Nele, the one who had been kind to him in tunnels. She too appeared emotional at the sight. Her head rested against his chest as she held him, sobbing. "Thank you. Thank you." She said.

Ralis' usual awkwardness was forgotten in such a moment and he returned the embrace gently. "It's okay. You're all safe now."

Another of the survivors joined the embrace, crying their thanks and it melted his heart to believe all he had done for these strangers. It was a storm of happy tears. Everything they had suffered through had been worth it. He looked back out to the Traveler and smiled. Whatever it was, he felt safe with it watching.

There was a voice from behind him. "Guardian? I hate to interrupt but the Vanguard has requested your presence." Ralis gently pulled away from the embrace and turned towards the voice. It was familiar. A man clad in an orange jumpsuit suit stood before him, seeming nervous. "They want to debrief you, I'll find an escort to show you the way. I can assure you the others will have all their needs tended to and the ship will be relocated for…non-traditional storage."

Ralis studied the man for a moment, wiping the wetness from his eyes. "You're the voice from the tower."

The man stiffened. The titan slowly made his way over to the man, a faint grin appearing as he did. The technician was clearly alarmed. He clasped the man on the shoulder. "Let me apologize. My outburst was rude, regardless of how…warranted. Don't worry, your ass is safe."

The man sighed in relief and turned to a robotic assistant nearby. "Rusty, cancel any current tasks in favor of Vanguard priority. I need you to escort this guardian to them. "

The automaton stopped and turned towards them. It spoke in a monotone electric voice. "Cancelation of task: Registered. New assignment: Confirmed. Follow me."

"That frame will guide you. If you're ever lost, a few of them who aren't busy can help you out."

Bishop floated up next to his shoulder as he followed the frame. Up ahead of them against the wall were catwalks, raised high above the hangar floor, full of cargo and control terminal screens. Wiring ran up from the floor in all directions up there and into the ceiling. His gaze followed the catwalk to the right and noticed two figures overlooking the hangar. One was a woman with blonde hair. The other was a robed figure standing beside the woman. The helmet of the robed one seemed to follow Ralis as he moved, making him fell uneasy. It was easy to look away. The frame led them to a lift on the hangar wall that brought them up slightly onto the catwalks. From there they climbed stairs up to a hallway that appeared to be a security checkpoint. He noticed that one of Rusty's legs moved with a slight limp as if damaged. It brought back fleeting memories. Those that they passed began to murmur amongst each other.

"What's the Vanguard?" He asked Bishop.

"It's a group of guardians tasked with overseeing the defense of the City. One of each spark; Titan, Hunter, Warlock. Some of the best we have to offer. They train and organize other guardians across the system."

They exited out of the hallway into an open roofed area lit up by the sun. Words were written on the wall to his right in multiple languages. One line read: Tower Plaza. Large banners flew in the wind with a series of emblems he didn't recognize. A hut like structure was off ahead, next to a trio of pillars rising up from the floor, holographic images floating at screens near the bottom. The plaza housed an array of greenery. Plants grew in beds framed on rising steps. Two large trees rose up on opposite ends of the area. The floor appeared to be made of smooth stone or marble and formed a grid of tiles across the ground. From here he had an even better view of the Traveler and stole a few glances backwards as they walked. The plaza was packed with people as they climbed the steps upwards. He noticed many in the crowd were watching him and in turn noticed some of them. He saw a man who couldn't have been a human. He had dark blue skin that shimmered with a faint light, eyes glowing unnaturally green. Then there there was a vibrantly colored robot that didn't look anything like the frame he was following. It had a red color for a face that was eerily human like. Glowing white lights formed eyes that followed him, a similar light softly shown inside past what looked like a mouth. Along the side two pieces of metal rose along what might have passed as ears. Unlike the frame, this one was wearing clothing. Ahead of them was a large pillar like tower lined with lights that was framed with even taller arches on the sides. It bore a circular gate at its base, the highest spot on the plaza floor. Below the stairs leading up to the gate was an opening in the floor that led downwards.

The stairs led down to a corridor. A frame bearing a set of animal horns on its head sat and attended a cache of weapons, a pattern of fur outlining its neck. On the opposite side of the room was another station that was currently unmanned and held an odd assortment of trophies on the wall. A large shield he had never seen before, the metal torso plates of inhuman armor, large rifles of alien design. It was a rather impressive collection. Save for the strange skulls. Those were unnerving. Further down the corridor opened into another room. It had windows for the back wall that allowed for a view of mountains in the distance, guns stationed idly outside ready to fire. In front of the window was a strange statue that had similar arch patterns he had seen outside. In the center of the room was a large table that sat at the bottom of a slight indentation of stairs, the surrounding higher ground framed the area by railing. Shelves of books sat on the edge with four groups of three patterned banners hanging from the ceiling, all depicting more symbols he didn't recognize. Frames and more jumpsuit clad personale carried on about their duties on the higher ground. The two standing near the table watched him as he entered, both drastically different in appearance.

One was an armored giant that stood at attention, hands behind his back as he calmly waited. He was one of the strangely colored men with light blue skin and even brighter blue eyes. The hairless head of his shimmered with the strange light that the rest of his face did. His red and white plate bore a sigil of two birds side by side and a massive shoulder guard on the left. The other was a cloaked figure with one of those robotic yet human faces. His was blue primarily, with a white forehead plate that sprouted a blue horn like piece. His armor appeared to be brown leather and displayed a random assortment of patches, the only he recognized as the symbol for _spades_ in cards. The cloak was a contrasting black color with a red pattern near the sides of the hood.

"Destination reached. Task complete." Rusty said to no one in particular and gestured to what he could only assume were members of the Vanguard. "Resuming previous operation: Sweeping floors." The frame left the way it brought them. Ralis slowly descended the stairs, his eyes darting between the strange looking duo at the table.

The cloaked figure spoke first. "I take it you haven't seen the likes of us before?" It asked while sounding very much like man. The blue lights for its eyes even blinked. When Ralis shook his head the robot continued. "Crash course then. I'm what's called an Exo. My friend over there is a space fairy. He'll grant you a wish if you recite the correct chant and rub his head-"

"-Cayde." The armored one interrupted sternly.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot that wasn't the correct term. Cosmic mermaid. That's it."

Ralis suppressed a chuckle but still smiled. "I'm sure that's not correct either."

The armored one sighed deeply. "I, and those like me, are known as the Awoken. There's a lot of things you won't understand now guardian. In time you will. I am Commander Zavala. My cohort here is Cayde-6."

The Exo gave a nod, "Call me Cayde."

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Ralis Beckard."

Cayde's face moved in surprise. "Oh, already picked out a name and everything?"

Ralis stood there puzzled. "What do you mean? That's been my name for as long as I can remember."

Silence. The two slowly shared a glance before turning back to him, gazes full of intensity. Ralis felt as if he had said something wrong. Zavala broke the silence and asked, "You _remember_ your previous life?"

"Well, I did," Ralis started while giving his head a scratch. "But my memories are fading every day, I'm trying to record everything I still remember before it's gone."

Cayde seemed bewildered. "Uh-huh."

"Is…that not normal?" Bishop inquired.

"You see, here's the thing. When Exo's get brought back we don't remember anything just right out. We have shattered images that flash by. Strange dreams. No full memories. Every other guardian who isn't one of us has always said they don't remember _anything_ about their past lives. They pick a new name, start a new life." Cayde answered the Ghost. Then he asked Ralis, "What exactly do you remember?"

Ralis wondered exactly what Cayde meant by brought back. They appeared synthetic in design, yet were strangely human in their actions, like his Ghost. Cayde could wield the Travelers Light? How did that work? The titan put aside his inquiries and told the Vanguard his tale starting before his revival with his death. It was long winded and occasionally Bishop chimed in to the parts he had a hand in. After a time the tale was done.

Zavala seemed rather pleased. "Just a few days risen, and yet you have learned to wield your Light impressively fast. You secured a fallen skiff, bested a baron in single combat, saved the lives of numerous refugees, and returned home to the City. You have exemplified what it means to be a guardian." The commander rose gauntlet clad fist and clapped his fingers to his chest. "A titan."

"Ikora should hear this. Maybe she's right to look into that Praxic's vision?" Cayde asked Zavala.

"Maybe. She'll bring that report back very soon I imagine. Titan, you've earned some rest. There are temporary sleeping quarters along the stem of the tower. One will be made ready for you immediately. I'll gather a fitting reward for your deeds in the meantime."

Ralis gave a nod, "Thank you, but I'm just glad to be here. Glad the others got here. No reward is necessary."

"You don't want to turn that down, guardian." Cayde said. "Times are grim and you're going to need better equipment to help change that. Holiday or Dead Orbit might want that skiff too. I could ask around for a small finder's fee, get you a very nice pile of glimmer to add to Zavala's reward."

"Take your fee, but give the rest to those I saved, they'll need it more than myself. Whatever items you can offer me I'll gladly take, Commander."

Zavala studied the titan for a moment. "For starters, armor fitting for you. No offense to your Ghost of course."

Bishop laughed, "None taken. You should have seen what I had to work with."

"There are also programs to help newcomers get acclimated to life here. The City will have your refugee friends take part, learn of the Cities history and condition, figure out skills they have and guide them to where best put to use. You could join them if you wish. The Vanguard offers mentoring and I would gladly teach you. My time is scarce so it would need to be scheduled with other students. We do have experienced guardians that can be assigned to teach you between those. We try to pick fitting mentors." Zavala said.

"I like that. I'll join both, just have them find me once you assign one." Ralis replied. He gave an awkward bow, not sure how thank them. "If you would please excuse me? I am exhausted, sir."

"Of course. I'll summon an escort. Rest well, titan. Your strength will be needed again."

* * *

(( _I apologize for the late update. Life is life, and I have a baby on the way in a few months. Still hoping to put out sizable updates every 1-2 weeks. I hope you all enjoy!_ ))


	9. Chapter 7

_It's strange. Well, everything as of late has been strange, but the memories are a constant unfamiliar sensation. Those from before my revival are filled with holes, while the fresh ones I make even now hold like normal. I still remember a lot from before, even though I know so much is gone. The thoughts I write down have become alarming to review, for I realized some entries say things I no long can recall. All I remember is just writing the text, not specifically what it mentions. A pseudo memory of sorts. Why is this happening? How come other guardians have no memory of their past lives while I do? Why am I losing them? Did it have to do with my condition from before? Did my Ghost make an error in bringing me back?_

 _I want to know more of this strange new world and have answers. For now, I must brush the questions aside and try to preserve what is left of myself. It may not be significant or, worthy of remembrance to someone else. For me this is everything, and I don't want to lose it. I can only imagine what it is like for other guardians, being reborn without the slightest idea of who you once were. A curse and a blessing._

 _-_ Excerpt from _A Fleeting Memoir_.

* * *

The way the world had once been during the Dark Age was no more. Tyrants and warlords who had fought over whatever scrap of devastated earth they could carve out were all but extinct. That separation and infighting almost spelt the downfall of humanity after the collapse and crippled the newly formed City with the faction wars. Then the Fallen arrived. In an odd way the ruthless pirates saved the City from itself by giving its denizens a common foe to fight. That hadn't been without cost. The Six Fronts, The Twilight Gap, Saint-14's crusades. The Last City's walls stood on the graves of humans and fallen alike. The important part was that they stood. A great many things had happened that Ralis was only beginning to learn of in the past week. At first, he had spent a sleepless night relentlessly emptying his thoughts into his data-pad. He would go back and review it later to fix the mess of tangled of scattered thoughts and sketches. He was no artist, but he felt obligated to try and preserve some images he had seen in both the world and books. The days after that had been spent adjusting to life in the City. He never dreamed so many people could live this close together, how everyone functioned was beyond him. His previous life as a nomad was hard to forget, so he favored isolation at first, only connecting with those he met from Rhine during sessions with the Cryptarchs.

Crypto-Archaeologists was the full title given to the individuals who studied encoded matter engrams and historical artifacts from or before the Golden Age. Ralis had sat in the back and listened to one of the hooded assistants talk, flipping through images on a holographic display for hours. It was very interesting. The Cryptarch's themselves asked just as many questions to the group as they answered. Very curious bunch. He liked that, however, he hoped their curiosity didn't turn towards him and his special case of remembrance. As far as Ralis knew, the Vanguard hadn't shared anything about that with anyone. He disliked attention from his peers, but oddly enough had grown comfortable having the attention of enemies with weapons readied at him. Perhaps his priorities should be reevaluated. Victor, Theo, and many of those who had fought all their lives had opted to join the Forces of the City and put their skills to use in the defense of their new homeland. Some, like Nele, wished to join the Cryptarchs and aid in translating with the many languages she understood. Foundry workers, pilots, technicians, all of them found a field that was fitting and it filled Ralis with joy. Maybe part of that stemmed from staring at Nele. Now that their situation wasn't life or death, he noticed just how pretty the woman was. Seeing her blue eyes light up in wonder, her smile, freshly combed long brown hair, it brought back memories. She reminded him of Kelsa, who he had admired for most of his former life. Maybe now that is why he looked at her, trying to recapture something lost, someone who despite his wishes otherwise was likely dead. The feelings weren't unwelcomed, just awkward. Kelsa had viewed him as a little brother, someone who needed to be taken care of when he had been frail. Nothing romantic.

Looking in the mirror now brought the reflection of someone he barely recognized. A healthy face with no gaunt line of sickness and disfiguration stared back. Nose and ears now proportional to his face, jaw more pronounced and strong. Like his father. Hair was beginning to sprout from his head, red in color. Like his mother. It was hard to stop thinking of himself as he once was and see this new man now made whole by Light. How he was supposed to be. It was even harder to believe what he could do. What he had done. Seeing the results of helping those from Rhine, flourish and make new lives for themselves, was inspiring. They lit up with smiles and laughs at the site of him, a figure larger than life in their eyes. That thought made it difficult to even think about talking to Nele. Her smile stemmed from the same cause as others, nothing more. Ralis had to remind himself that he had done a lot for them. The glimmer Cayde had gotten from the sale of the skiff had been substantial, more than enough for the refugees to have a start to their new lives. The delivery of the glimmer had be accompanied by a note from the Exo.

* * *

 _So, I don't want to put any numbers on this Glim, but it is a lot. Here's the jist. Holiday and I are on decent terms, so with her help I got the bids on the thing to go up. Dead orbit really wanted the craft for their own fleet I take it, and kept matching the bids in a heartbeat. Eventually the price was settled and they won. Well, lost is more like it. Suckers paid a lot. I mean…a lot. We won. I cut Holiday in for her showmanship, but your generosity was touching to witness. Staring at all those cubes of blue was a beautiful thing. I'd cry as I write this if I could, but I'm not taking any of it. You don't know me, but that's not something I do. I want you to take my cut, put it to good use. There's this uncanny ability I have to make glimmer vanish if I touch it and I can't in good conscience take any of this. Here's my only request, no one ever reads this. Ever. Delete the file, burn the pad, throw it over the tower railing, then go to the bottom and smash the pieces into more pieces. I have my reasons. Enjoy! –_ Cayde-6

* * *

Ralis had saved the letter with the inward promise never to show it. He took the amount designated as his own and halved it, sending one of the halves back to Cayde. Between the sessions he found himself taking to the libraries of the cryptarch's and various warlock orders. His request to use the facility seemed to always be met with surprise. Titans apparently had a reputation. Bishop had joined him as he poured over the City's history, absorbing the information like an infant learning the ways of the world. His Ghost also delved into the information, though Bishop reading something seemed to take all but a few seconds. The Ghost said it would save and upload anything he thought interesting to Ralis' data-pad for later. It would have been glorious if much of the content hadn't been morbid. Times were indeed dark. It was easy to forget in such a serene paradise like the City. It felt safe, people walked without a care and went about their day like normal, or at least whatever normal had been before the collapse. Theo had even invited him to a tavern after the second day of the acclimation program. It had been the first time Ralis had even tried alcohol. Out of his element as he was, the titan was pleasantly surprised to enjoy the company. There was one point where Theo had his men had tried to arm wrestle him. Ralis didn't want to hurt them while still finding out his own strength so he only let them try to move his arm. When no one could do so, it became a game of how many drinks Ralis could have till they could beat him. If they ever did, he didn't remember.

Some of his time had been spent training. No word had come from the Vanguard about a mentor or a scheduled session with Zavala, so Ralis asked around and found a gym in the tower designated for guardians. After each visit a new way to make his body sore seemed to be found. Experiencing death a few times made the pain a joke in comparison. The desire to become stronger for those who would need him fueled a fire within that pushed aside any discomfort. Others may still be out there, struggling as they tried to get to the City. He intended to bring them here. Some guardians trained in their equipment, probably getting used to the way it felt or how much it may have enhanced their movements or strength. Ralis had no idea how any of the training equipment had worked until an armor clad Titan spotted his confusion and demonstrated. The man was able to lift an absurdly unrealistic amount. Afterwards he had to lower the weight count and test the waters to begin building himself. If he felt strong now, he could only imagine what limits he could reach in the future. The videos he viewed in the various libraries had highlighted the different sparks in guardians and their various forms. Some fired beams of fiery light from a glowing gun, others hurled bolts of large violet energy that exploded violently. What he could do, let alone how he could do it, was still something to be learned.

As he had moved about the tower, Ralis noticed the robe figure he had seen in the hangar, watching him. There were other guardians who wore different robes, but that figure had a distinctive pattern in black and white at the chest with what looked like gray medals hanging from the center. Along the bottom folds of the robes was an embroiled orange design that was also featured on the back. The figure, that he had assumed must be a warlock, had a blue glowing band on their arm that depicted two blue eagles back to back. Whenever they had noticed him looking, the figure would nonchalantly turn their black helmed gaze away and walk off. It was unsettling, but he had tried to pay it no mind even as he occasionally glanced over his shoulder. What bad could happen to him in the City? The mysterious warlock aside, most of his time spent in those days were in peace, sitting down and reading. Whether or not it was on a screen, data-pad display, or book, Ralis' eyes darted back in forth on some form text, hungrily. Perhaps it felt good to fill the holes in his memory with new information and move onto the present. What remained of his past was written down, it wouldn't go anywhere.

The days passed. His knowledge grew, but his strength would take longer to keep pace. He learned of the Consensus, the governing body of the City that gathered in the district under the traveler called The Core. It was headed by the Speaker and the three main factions raised by a vote above the minor factions. Dead Orbit, Future War Cult, New Monarchy. Each had their own doctrine and creed that were vastly different in focus. Other distinguished individuals were a part of the Consensus, usually at the same level as the minor factions. Others sat in as advisors that didn't vote and only offered opinions. The related topics in the libraries grimoire spider webbed out from there and he picked those he found most interesting to view. From what the titan read he slowly began to realize how much others still didn't know about a wide variety of topics. One example was the Darkness itself:

\\\\\\\\\\\

 _Something hit us. Killed our Golden Age. Nearly wiped us out. Only the Traveler saved us, and at a shattering cost._

 _The Speaker tells of a cosmic force that swept over us and caused the Collapse. Legend calls it the Darkness, the Traveler's ancient enemy, which hunted it across space._

 _All we have left are questions. Centuries of debate gave birth to competing arguments on the nature of the Darkness and the Collapse._

 _The Pujari Position describes the Darkness as a force with both physical and moral presence, an actualization of evil. Pujari art depicts the Darkness as a great storm, or as a change in conduct, a corruption that emerged from within and poisoned the Golden Age._

 _Saint-14's Position argues that the Darkness was an invading armada, an alien force of incredible - but tangible - power. Some adherents believe that this armada sprang from species rejected or discarded by the Traveler for their sins._

 _Ulan-Tan's Thesis considers the Darkness a necessary symmetry to the Traveler in a cosmic balance. In this view, the Traveler's goodness led it to sacrifice for others, and it is up to us to return this goodness by healing the Traveler._

 _The Monist Position, or the Deflationary Position, considers the Darkness as a technologically sophisticated force, perhaps a post-Singularity intelligence. Adherents invoke information theory or contend that the universe is a simulation, allowing advanced intelligence to gain weakly acausal powers by bending the rules._

 _The Acataleptic Clause claims that we are intrinsically unable to understand the Darkness. In many respects this belief parallels the Praxic Creed, which suggests that we should stop worrying about the nature of the Darkness and focus on resisting and defeating it._

 _Certain positions - often labeled heretical - imply that the Traveler itself triggered the Collapse, or that it knew the Darkness was coming for it and hoped to use the Solar System as a sacrifice or a proxy army. The Binary Star cult is one notable example._

 _/_

Some of the things he learned only led to more questions. He had no idea what theory sounded correct, or what some of the positions even believed from the description. He was certain that those like the Binary Star cult must be wrong. How could the Traveler do so much good, sacrifice itself and raise those from the dead to fight, if it ended the golden age or planned to use us? Its actions didn't seem to support those motives. He looked at that mysterious sphere in the sky and saw hope, felt safe. People could believe anything it seemed. Ralis didn't know what to believe. Luckily, not all he read left more to be desired. Some entries were useful.

\\\\\\\\\\\

 _The programmable matter called 'Glimmer' serves as one of the City's basic currencies. With the right inputs and an energy source, Glimmer can be transmuted into nearly anything. This makes it precious to the City's industries and artisans. That value, in turn, makes Glimmer a useful means of exchange - especially with those who venture beyond the City's walls._

 _Glimmer passes through an economic life cycle. New Glimmer comes from reclaimed Golden Age caches and technology - whether a tiny mechanism or an underground lode seeded by ancient machines. This expansion of the Glimmer supply drives down the value of Glimmer. But Glimmer is also constantly used by the City's industry, which converts it into necessary components and materials. This sink helps keep Glimmer scarce, and therefore valuable. Between this inflow and outflow lies the pool of liquidity - Glimmer used as trade currency._

/

Even in the wilds as his clan used to be, they had known Glimmer was valuable. Why or how had been beyond them as scavengers, but the many warlords and their followers had need of the material and had always been eager to give passage through their land as trade. Some tech they had learned to use in conjunction with Glimmer if applied correctly, like food synthesizers. Most others they recovered were just scraps to trade and keep moving. Learning more of the very flexible matter had brought to light just how useful it could be and just how valuable the amount he had obtained was. There was one thing that jumped out after days of reading, a person in particular. Pahanin, a famous hunter for his written works compiled together in a book called, the Pahanin Errata. It held lighthearted advice to guardians, specifically hunters, ranging from surviving out beyond the City, to dressing better than their comrades.

 _"Mission goal four, keep your boots clean. Five, keep your gun clean. Six, make friends with a Titan. Never know when one will come in handy."_

That had made him chuckle. Pahanin had documented some encounters with Saint-14, a beloved guardian by all accounts that he read. He had hoped to meet that titan, but as he read more that hope was dashed when he learned Saint was presumed dead after his crusades. Vanished. Pahanin still met many colorful characters and Ralis found himself enjoying the little segments. Especially when he got to Wei Ning. She seemed like a titan he'd like to have as a mentor. Maybe his personality wasn't as direct and blunt as hers, but her attitude and actions seemed fitting to how he fought.

 _"Be the Wall, they always told me. When you're forming the Ward, imagine the Wall before you. Walk inside it, wrap it around you. That never worked for me. I just get really, really angry and then the Light does the rest."_

Ralis related heavily to that. He didn't know what he was doing when the Light came besides just channeling his fury. Ning mastered two sparks of the titan. The Ward of Dawn, a protective field that titans trained as a defender could summon to protect others inside. The Fist of Havoc, the light infused fist that a striker brought down in a vaporizing blast. There were tales of other forms amongst the various sparks, with the rarest being mentioned only by affiliation of someone named Osiris. Sunbreaker. His had manifested as a striker. In time he might learn how to channel the others. For now, Ralis sat in a chair reading the Errata while Bishop was off on his own, sipping a new dark substance he had come to favor over the past few days called _coffee_. There were other published works more for entertainment that he has lined up after the Errata. Fenchurch's explorations to the inner planets seemed interesting. He had learned a great deal over the past week and knew there was so much more he had yet to tap into. If he was to be a part of this world, he had to know of it, find purpose in it.

In the corner of his eye, someone approached. Ralis looked up to be greeted by the robed figure standing over him, staring down through the strange visor of their black helmet. The glass was almost rectangular in shape, going vertical along the helmet rather than horizontal. The rest of the helmet had thin engravings along the metal, depicting spiraling patterns of what looked like birds. Along the sides were little pieces that appeared to be audio speakers. The top of the helmet sloped inward after the visor had three triangular protrusions in a line that stuck up along the scalp. The warlock's armor was light compared to the titans he had seen, with only a few areas plated; the shoulders, shins, feet, knees, and hands. All of the armor plating sported similar intricate engravings and bore colors that matched the robes color of black, white, and orange. On some of the plating he noticed certain notches sticking out in overlapping pyramids he had come to learn as the Vanguard symbol for warlocks. Along the sleeves under the robe appeared to be an under layer of metal that reminded him of chainmail. After Ralis briefly inspected the armor, he noticed something else about the stranger. The warlock was a woman. It had been hard to tell from far away.

She silently looked down at him with hands crossed, studying him in an eerie stillness. Ralis shifted his gaze briefly down to his pad in his hands, then back up to the warlock. "Can I help you?"

She ignored his question and asked one of her own through the helmets speakers. "What are you doing?"

"Reading." He answered hesitantly.

"What are you reading?"

Ralis was dumbfounded at this sudden directness but tilted his pad to the side to show the warlock. "I've been looking through the Errata and enjoying what Pahanin has to say about Wei Ning. This part was good. He was asking her how she would deal with certain foes and kept escalating the scale, ending on the darkness, and she replies with: ' _I'll punch it too_.' I hope I cross paths with her someday." Ralis gave an awkward smile.

"You won't. She's dead."

His smile faded. He hadn't gone to other sources to read about Ning just yet. "How?"

She reached out towards his data pad. "May I?"

Reluctantly, Ralis slowly handed the device over to the warlock. An uplink appeared on screen and loaded. She handed back the device as a video started to play. It was static at first, then grey rocks filled the view, smoldering from heat. The image moved from a first person perspective, likely a recorder on a helmet. A gloved hand slammed itself onto the rock and steadied the shaking perspective. Another hand surfaced into view, holding a rifle. The view shifted to the side and revealed a sea of grey ground, filled with hills and craters under a black sky filled with stars. They were on the moon. Silhouettes of guardians in the background poured in, firing off at some distant foe. The observer looked straight ahead as they stood, face to face with a horrendous creature he had never seen before. It stood on two legs and towered in the view, holding something that Ralis couldn't quite call a sword. It looked more like a butchers cleaver made of stone. Before he had called the fallen the monsters of his nightmares, this thing was much worse. The outer skin looked like a bulky exoskeleton, boney protrusions sticking out in various directions along the arms, chest, and head of the beast. It covered a horrid under layer of bones underneath, some exposed outside with strands of muscle and meat attached. Three glowing green eyes seemed to burn on its face, two spaced apart like a humans with a third higher between those. Beneath the eyes was an appalling mouth full of teeth, the entirety of their length visible due to the lack of flesh on the things face. It was as if a servant of death itself stood before the observer in the video.

The monster roared and charged, raising its cleaver up for the kill. The glove hand rose quickly into view and a blast of fire erupted outwards, slamming into the beast and staggering it backwards, coating it in flames. The observer raised their rifle and fired round after round into the thing until it crumbled into ash and boney plating. Then Ralis was able to see what lay beyond the corpse. Hundreds of those monsters, battling guardians in a blaze of colorful munitions. The sky no longer shown black with stars, it was alight with a green glow as if on fire. Amidst the monsters was another, similar in shape but terribly different. It was much bigger, glowing the same color as the sky along its body and terribly wicked blade. The brightness of its three eyed gaze was so intense it nearly obscured the features of its face. Along its body in haunting green light was the outline of the skeleton within. The phantasmal monster calmly watched as scores of its own servants fell to the guardians, moving at a steady pace. The observed took aim with their rifle and fired into the glowing monster along with many others. The thing didn't even flinch and kept walking. Lowering their rifle, the observer looked at a figure charging towards the glowing giant. Wei Ning. Her armored plate reflected off the green fire as she charged towards the monster, turning the lesser ones into ash with her fists if they dared get in her way.

She Lifted off a large stone, high into the air above the giant and filled herself with light. Roaring fiercely, the titan shot forth suddenly like a missile and slammed directly into the monsters chest with an explosion of Light. It let out a low cry and fell to a knee before the titan. Bullets from numerous guardians peppered the kneeling figure as Ning savagely slammed one of its legs repeatedly, expelling out more Arc Light with each hit. It looked like she had bested the creature, but the warlock's statement filled him with ominous dread. Slowly, the giant rose and moved back its sword to thrust. Ning had little time to react and attempted to Lift away as the sword ran her through. The titan hung there, impaled upon the sword, twitching as she screamed. The Light began to drain from her body and flowed down into the sword. A few moments later, Ning stopped screaming and went limp. The offering of Light appeased the giant and it lifted up the kill for all to see. It roared and hundreds more of its followers charged from behind the monster, a horde of bone and death flowing rapidly towards the horror stricken guardians that had seen what happened.

The image ended and his data pad went back to the normal screen. Ralis sat for a few moments as he tried to process the horror he had just witnessed. He felt a chill coursing through him. "Was that from your view?" He asked the stranger.

She ignored his question once again. "That was the largest army of assembled guardians in history, with some of the finest fighting and leading them. They were massacred by the Hive."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because that is what's out there. The Moon was lost to us and abandoned rather than face those monsters and what they call a god. And not only just the Hive. Legions of Cabal on Mars, strange machine constructs called Vex taking Mercury for their own and covering it their structures. There's much more to worry about than just the Fallen. Morale for the City is low. The people are frightened. Then, out from the wilds you come. Some much needed good news. An inspiring tale of a newborn saving refugees by stealing a fallen skiff isn't a common occurrence. You've been the talk of the tower. But here you are, reading the Errata. Do you know what happened to Pahanin? Murdered. By a fellow guardian corrupted from Darkness called, Dredgen Yor. There is a lot that had happened that you don't know, newborn. If you use your time trying to learn it all you'll never be ready to face what's coming."

The heat of anger began to rise in his chest, but Ralis tried to remain civil. "Wasted time? If this is my home now I'd at least like to know more about it. I don't need to know everything, you're right, but-"

"-You're reading the works of an eccentric hunter acting as a biographer." She said sternly, "That does little to inform you of the City and just serves to waste time."

Ralis exhaled and chewed his lip as he tried to calm down. "I'm sorry, did I do something to offend you by sitting here alone while trying to cope with all that has happened to me?"

She laughed. She actually laughed. "All that has happened to _you_? Oh I'm sure it was just _terrible_. I don't think you realize how long some guardians have been around. I've lived the length of many lifetimes, newborn. I've seen horrors beyond imagining, the darkest moments of the City. If just one week of being reborn is too much for you, then I have no sympathy."

Ralis rose slowly from his chair, standing much taller than the warlock and glared downwards intensely. "You don't even know anything about me or realize what I remember. Maybe it was easy for you to just start anew and fight when you were revived. You didn't know else anything up until that moment. I remember. My name, my family, how I died. It's scattered and not all there, but I've got most of it. I have my whole life from before to get over. Don't you dare mock what I've been through because you couldn't possibly fucking understand." The warlock stood, looking up at him in silence with her hands still crossed. With gritted teeth Ralis asked, "Who are you, and why are you following me?"

"I've been chosen as your mentor."

He felt the shock and disbelief flicker across his face. "You? I thought Zavala said they picked fitting mentors."

She sounded amused. "Well that's exactly what you're going to be doing today. Trying me on for size."

"You might be a size or two small for me." Ralis retorted, not sure what she meant.

"Oh, you're a tall one. But so are the Cabal. If I can take them on, I'm sure you'll be easy to handle, newborn."

She was able to piss him off with little to no effort. "I have a name."

"Yes, Ralis. I know a lot about you, actually."

"And I know nothing about you."

She turned, robes whipping behind her as she strode away. "Follow me then, and I shall tell you. You've got a lot to learn."

Many thoughts raced through his head as she walked away. Who was she? Why did they pick her? Could he request a new mentor? Would she be the only one? What exactly did she have planned for him? Ralis picked up his pad and input commands. A channel link appeared and was accepted.

 _"Yes?"_ Bishops voice inquired through the data pad.

"I need you meet me back in the tower, I just met my mentor." Ralis answered.

The Ghost sounded excited. "I'm on my way! I might look a little different so don't be alarmed. Just learned a few bits about self-modifying. What's the mentor like?"

Ralis thought about it for a moment after he began to follow after the warlock. Making sure she was out of earshot he then answered, "If I'm being honest, she's kind of a bitch."

* * *

((Kinda late on updating again, just trying to sort out everything happening in life at the moment. I just wanted to say thank you for all the feedback I've gotten on this story, i'm glad you've taken time out of your day to read this and always hope it's worth it. Until next time!))


	10. Chapter 8

_Older military doctrines derided survivability as a lesser cousin to firepower and aggression. They did not endure. Every Guardian is a priceless resource. Titan armor is an incubator for legends. Based on the Fieldplate design, the Knight pattern employs spinmetal and relic iron, sparing no expense. The density of relic iron provides ample mass for inertial sinks and field drivers to operate. It also breaks skulls._ \- _Knight_ armor set description.

* * *

It felt strange to move with the new armor on. He could fell the weight and yet somehow it didn't hinder him as it should. The diagram of the suit was still up in the helmets polarized visor, listing off a degree of parts and materials with a name above the digital model. _Knight Type Six_. The inner workings of the armor mimicked his movements, flowing in unison to make the motions significantly easier despite the bulk. Wearing it for an extended time would still be much more strenuous than Bishop's hastily assembled Lightmail variant. An excessively greater amount of plating covered his entire form, with large pieces focusing on his upper chest, shoulders, arms, legs, and back of his hands. Smaller and lighter metal sections comprised the rest of the armor with a black skintight suit coated in plasteel underneath, leaving no gap completely unprotected. The helmet was round, with a small open visor and a slicked back design that jutted backwards in the rear. Ralis flexed his all of his limbs awkwardly while still getting used to new suit.

Following the warlock had led him out to the Tower's Plaza eventually. She brought him to the structure situated near the center and was introduced to a frame called Kadi 55-30. Kadi was the postmaster for the tower, tracking items sent to or from those that lived here. Ralis soon learned that his short stay in the tower had garnered a fair share of attention. Multiple messages were waiting for him, some a few days old. They had been sitting idly due to the frame not being able to find him. He gave Kadi his current room number and was asked to create a profile for her link to. Not understanding what that meant, Ralis agreed anyways and stood still for a moment as the frame scanned his face for its database. Now knowing who ' _Ralis Beckard_ ' was, Kadi gave him his messages on a small memory core with a package. It was strange that Cayde's package had arrived at his doorstep while these were waiting for him here. The Exo must have looked up where he was staying and had it delivered. Some of the messages turned out to be invitations from various titan orders to join them. Firebreak, Stoneborn, Pilgrim Guard, Sun Legion. He only managed to start skimming the letters before his mentor not so nicely directed him to the package. It was from the Vanguard, specifically Zavala, and the reason she had brought him here. In contained coded matter engrams, strange polygonal translucent shapes that were said to be another state of matter that was manipulated to store items within. The color of the engram was a way to measure the encryption strength.

How any of that worked was a miracle he couldn't begin to fathom, a frustratingly common occurrence since his revival. From the engrams had appeared the armor he was now wearing for the first time. His mentor had been impressed at the gift, a rarer set that wasn't too common due to its materials, but was still simple in design by comparison to equipment that defied normal science. Bishop had helped him into the gear by transmatting it around his form due to its weight. His Ghost had indeed looked different. The two points above his ' _eye_ ' were thinner, taller, and had a tip that pointed upward. It had said something about basing it on the _Foundry_ shell type, but kept its plain white color for now. Ralis thought the change did look better and fit with the Ghost's name and Bishop in response had said the armor's name was fitting for him as well. It was a nice sentiment, Ralis did like medieval knights, he hardly felt like one though. Wearing the armor now made him feel more like a tank. Its dull grey color wasn't much to his liking, but cosmetics weren't much of a concern. Bishop mentioned something about _shaders_ being able to change that.

His mentor had taken them out of the tower, towards the military district. Some foundries were located here, forging weapons for the City and doing their best to replicate Golden Age secrets. A large structure with the initials _FWC_ was visible in the distance from where he stood. The Future War Cult clubhouse. Not too far was a training area for the Cruicble that housed multiple buildings and areas dedicated for the guardians. Ralis stood atop an abandoned tower, much like the one he had resided in for the past week. It was in ruins, abandoned after some battle scarred its walls. It wasn't the only that had been left to rust. Others could been seen on the horizon, some in worst shape than others. The Tower for the guardians was the only one populated for now.

"Why are these towers abandoned?" He asked his mentor while still flexing in the armor.

"Now is not time for questions, newborn." She said while setting her rifle to rest against a wall.

He tried not to groan. Ralis harshly gripped the railing while closing his eyes to calm himself. When he opened them, the metal had crunched in around his fingers and the titan flexed them in surprise. "Then what time is it for?"

"It's time for you to hit me."

Ralis turned from the view of the City below, "What?"

She came to stand on the other side of the courtyard from him. "Hit me. As hard as you can."

Raising a hand, her Ghost appeared and floated off towards the side. It was silver in color, its ends rounded rather than pointed. Ralis looked to his side and gestured for Bishop to join the other Ghost. Slowly he walked towards the warlock who stood as ease. If he hit her as hard as possible, wouldn't it kill her? She could be revived, but that just seemed barbaric to him, even if he strongly disliked her.

"I'm waiting." His mentor taunted.

In that moment, Ralis unleashed his anger. All her insults, rudeness, and impatience came to mind. He kept his volatile rage at bay and now she was giving him an excuse to use it. He charged towards the warlock. The armor was surprisingly easy to run in. Its cumbersome weight slowed him down slightly, but he wasn't much of a fast runner anyways. The tiled floor of the old towers courtyard cracked under his weight as he rushed her, raising his fist up to strike. She was motionless before, but then she became a blur of movement. Every strike he launched she dodged with ease. Hooks missed as she stepped backwards, uppercuts were side stepped. He grew angrier and tried with all his strength to hit the warlock to no avail. She ducked and stepped around one strike to stand at his side with her hand extended. She _flicked_ the front of his visor with her finger and chuckled. Ralis let out a roar and spun to face her with a back hand, catching her on the side of the helmet as she tried to step backwards. She reeled from the force of the blow but spun with its momentum to keep her balance.

He refrained from charging her again, breathing heavily. "Don't toy with me." He warned.

"Then don't make it so easy, newborn." She said while flexing her neck. "You nicked me, but that's not what I said. Hit me. As _hard_ as you can."

Arc Light coursed around his clenched fists as he replied, "As you wish."

Ralis charged her once again, the attack he launched humming with the buzz of Arc Light begging to be released. If one of these connected then surely he would be hitting her hard enough. Again the warlock began to dance around his strikes. Her hands shone in suddenly brightness and she raised a palm as his fist was on a course towards her face. For the briefest of moments it looked like he would land the hit. Then a blast of fiery energy erupted from her hand and knocked him away from the warlock by the sheer force of impact. His suit blared an alarm as his shields went down and he nearly stumbled trying to find his footing from the blow. It had hurt enough initially, now fire coated his armor and slowly burned. It was better than having it burn directly on his skin, but it still hurt like hell. The warlock shone brightly after the strike, a radiant sheet of blue light coating her form as she stood at ease again. Still aflame, Ralis cried out in fury and struck her with a storm fist as hard as he could. The Arc Light shot out from his fist and slammed against the blue light. The layer around her faded, however, she stood as if nothing had struck her and laughed as she raised a gloved palm again. Ralis was knocked to the floor, the air from his lungs. The fire had stopped but he still hurt from where it had cooked him in his armor. He groaned in pain and struggled to rise.

His mentor was standing over him at that point, arms crossed as she seemed to measure him on the floor. "Don't whine about the pain, we've faced death before. Just relax and focus on bringing your Light back to protect you, it will heal the wounds."

He took a deep breath as he sat up on the old tiled floor. Seconds passed and he could feel his Light reforming around him, charging the plate of his armor for protection. The pain slowly began to fade and was replace by a mild soreness. Before he never had been that wounded and lived, the healing capabilities of his Light was a welcomed discovery. Slowly, Ralis rose from the ground. "How did you take that like it was nothing?"

"As I've said, you've got a lot to learn, newborn."

Ralis exhaled. "Will you stop calling me that?"

She shook her head, "Only until you've earned it. Now _hit_ me."

The dance begun again. Ralis tried to hit the warlock and she maneuvered around him with ease. She grew increasingly aggressive as he failed to hit her, showering him with fire more often with blasts from her hands. Through the pain and frustration, Ralis noticed that she no longer toyed with him. It was emboldening yet did little to help him connect his punches. She continually issued the command over and over again that he failed to do. _Hit me. Hit me. Hit me!_

He couldn't, she was too fast. Anytime he got close she could just blast him with her palm and knock him back. Ralis was tired of feeling fire burn him, it became a fuel for his anger. She wanted to be hit? Channeling his anger, Ralis began to feel for the Light he knew to be deep within him. He ran towards the warlock and leapt, Lifting towards her. Just as he could begin to feel his Light, she hit him again with her explosive palm. The force knocked him backwards and up further into the air as he Lifted, burning with both fire and rage. She was too far now, but his mind went to the image he saw of Wei Ning. Not sure what he was doing, Ralis allowed the Light held at bay to flow through. With his fist reared back, he imagine hurling it towards his opponent like a lightning bolt. Unstable Arc Light danced around his body and in a fraction of a second could no longer be held. The Light charged his armor further, shining brightly as the flames that burned him were extinguished. He punched towards where he wanted to go and his fist shot forward, the rest of his body following like a missile. His mentor vainly tried to dodge but was caught in the blast as he landed. Old stone tiles shattered and broke into pieces in the air as a small indentation formed around him. The warlock was nowhere to be seen, disbursed by Arc Light. Slowly the panting titan rose, unharmed despite how quick and hard he hit the ground. His anger subsided, replaced by regret as he stood there alone with the Ghosts watching silently. Could she even be revived when he saw no body? He looked towards the Ghosts in worry.

 _What have I done?_

There was a bright flash and Ralis jumped, startled as fire sprung up from nothing. From the flames his mentor slowly rose, consumed by her Light. What he could only describe as wings burned brightly over her shoulders, like a phoenix rising from the ashes. Ralis stared in wide eyed disbelief as a surge of emotions flooded through him. Relief. Surprise. Fear. The angelic figure stepped towards him, palm extended. He knew what was about to happen. That knowledge did little to prepare him for the blast that hit him. He felt himself knocked off the ground as Solar Light showered his form in its radiant power, burning him away to ash. By the time Ralis thought to scream, darkness consumed him. A void, nothingness. Suddenly there was a burst of feeling and he awoke on the floor, gasping with no air in his lungs. He patted himself frantically trying to put out a fire that wasn't there. Slowly Ralis realized what had happened and noticed he was still enclosed in his armor. He looked up and saw the pair of Ghosts hovering over him.

"I see what you mean." Bishop said to the other one. "The Light acts as an anchor to pull the atoms back together. I've always had some physical remains left as a reference, never had to be that thorough before."

The silver colored ghost shimmered a wave of light across its body and seemed to nod. "You did well! The only trouble is titan armor. You'll want to carry some materials in transmat that the schematics call for, just in case you need to do field repairs."

"I'm glad you were worried." Ralis said dryly as he shakily stood.

His mentor leaned against the wall of a metal barrier in the center of the courtyard, grass growing inside it behind her head. "You have learned to wield your Light very fast, newborn, but there is much more to unlock."

"I suppose a Titan could show me."

She stepped away from the wall towards him. "Zavala will handle that in your sessions with him."

"And what about you?" He inquired. "What will you teach me? That fire hurts?"

"Did you not know?" She mockingly asked. "I assumed you weren't an idiot."

"You're _unbearable_. Do you hear yourself? Do you think you're helping me right now?" Ralis fumed.

His mentor moved closer, crossing her arms. "Did you not do something for the first time just now? Propel yourself forward in the air as you dropped the Fist? I just showed you Wei Ning preforming the same feat and you replicated it in hours. Impressive, don't you think? You won't learn how to survive out there if I'm gentle. Your Light won't grow stronger unless it's strained."

Ralis was still angry, but her words sunk in. "You could be…ya know, a little nicer."

"I'm not here to be nice. I'm here to make you become Legend." She turned and walked over to the railing of the courtyard overlooking the City. The warlock climbed it and stood at the edge, looking downward. "We'll spar again tomorrow, newborn. For now, I leave it up to you. We can continue training, or you can go back to your libraries to grow soft when we need you strong."

Ralis walked towards her, their Ghosts following in suite talking softly to each other. "Wait, what are you doing?"

"Taking the fastest way down." She leapt off the railing to his horror. He ran to the edge and looked over, fighting the nausea that assaulted him from the height. The warlock's figure shot towards the ground, robes whipping back wildly in the wind. Her fall suddenly slowed and she began to float downwards the rest of the way like a feather.

"She'll be fine," her Ghost said cheerfully. "Try it, it can be fun!" He began to fly down after her.

It was odd that she would have such a happy sounding Ghost. Bishop instead sounded more like a scholar as he spoke, a wise older man. He found it interesting that Ghosts has different personalities. It made him feel like they were more of a person and less of a Light infused machine. Ralis looked to his Ghost for comfort. "I don't think I can do it."

"Do what?"

He looked up to the floating sphere above the City. "Any of it. She infuriates me, and jumping off here is terrifying."

Bishop floated over to the railing. "Look at it this way. Did she not just teach you something? Do you think that thing that killed Wei Ning is going to be any nicer to you? She is a little rough, but so was I at first. If you jump, what's the worst that can happen?"

"I die."

"And then I bring you back."

Ralis sighed. "I don't do well with heights. Or moving really fast." He tried looking over the edge again and recoiled.

"You couldn't walk before, remember?" Bishop reminded. "Now look at you. You may get sick and it may be frightening, but you'll overcome it. Death has no hold on you, heights shouldn't either."

"You're right." Ralis smiled faintly. "Thanks. For everything. I'm sorry you have to keep pulling my spirits up."

"I'm your Ghost, I'll always be here, Ral." Bishop made a few electronic noises as he chuckled. "I learned very quickly that being overly critical wasn't the best way to encourage you."

"Tell that to her," Ralis said while gesturing to his mentor, still descending in a Glide. He watched her silently while building the courage to jump.

He heard the _whoosh_ of Bishop transmatting, followed by the Ghost speaking inside his helmet. "If it helps, I'll be in here with you."

The titan looked to the Traveler again, the orb dominating his view with its massive presence. Awkwardly, Ralis began to stand up on the railing while keeping his gaze fixed on the Traveler for comfort. His insides were in an anxious knot of pressure that he fought to calm. Just as he found his balance and began to rise, the metal gave way from his weight where he had accidentally crushed it in his grip and broke free. Ralis fell headfirst over the side, unprepared on various levels for the sudden descent. His heart raced as if trying to burst from his rib cage, stomach lurching from the free fall, body tingling in fear. Spiraling uncontrollably in the air, he struggled to get his bearings and steady himself against the wind whipping up against his armor. A flash of blue sky, the Traveler, the City below, then the slanted stem of the abandoned tower. It grew larger at an alarming rate.

 _Oh shit! Oh shit!_

He began to channel his Light and Lifted, righting himself up and slowing the fall. The shield of his Light decreased when he hit the tower but still held as he slid on his back down the slanted metal. Bishop was cheering in excitement while Ralis frantically tried to grip something. He began to pick up speed from sliding and noticed a protrusion like balcony coming up towards him. Pushing himself up with his gauntlets that scraped along the wall, the titan sat up and kicked off as hard as he could to avoid crashing. The ground was much closer now and so was his mentor. In free fall he dropped by her Gliding form like she was stationary, finding brief amusement in passing her amongst the feeling of panic. Lifting hard, Ralis slowed his fall just enough to land in the clearing around the base of the tower without breaking anything. He hit the ground running, momentum carrying him forward for a few steps. Once at a stop, he bent over with his hands on his knees, wheezing in his helmet.

"I must confess something," Bishop said slowly. "That was very entertaining."

Ralis shook his head in disagreement, catching his breath while his heart thumped viciously. When he tried to respond, the only things he managed to say were jumbled profanities. Glancing upwards to see how far he had fallen only added to his stream of swearing. It had been terrifying, but his body now pulsed with adrenaline and felt alive with fire. His panic began to fade as this new life of energy flowed through him. The swearing turned into loud laughter as the titan sat down on the grass and sprawled out on his back with closed eyes.

A few moments later a voice spoke. "That was the worst tower dive I've seen in years."

Ralis opened his eyes to see his mentor standing over him. "Yet I still beat you down here."

"Ha. We weren't racing. I didn't think you would jump."

Ralis sat up and stretched. "Well, here I am. What's next on our schedule?"

The warlock paused as she observed him. "Let's see how well you shoot."

He could have answered that for her on the spot; not very well. The brief reprieve of being scolded was nice so he held his tongue and followed her once again.

* * *

((Once again, I apologize for the delay. I had wanted to write more for this chapter and instead got tangled up with other things I plan to write for later, as well as life. I have been doing a lot of research into the lore to be as accurate as possible for most of this. Some things I just have to take a shot in the dark to write about. Like where the Last City is located and all that. I've seen theories pointing all over the place, but due to the items in the game I generally think its near/in Russia, i'm defiantly not perfect though. I also noticed a typo in a previous chapter about the card symbol patch that Cayde wears, so I fixed that. I hope you all enjoy, and like last time every four chapters will be followed by an interlude. Happy reading! ))


	11. Interlude: Iris-9

_"I've had a dozen Hunters ask me why it's so hard to summon a Dusk Bow. I asked 'em what they thought of the Void, and their eyes told me everything. You can't be afraid. That's the secret. No fear."_ —Tevis, Log Entry 19338

Inorganic guttural sounds. The hiss of energy discharge. Radiolaria drenched hands driving a knife into a red eye. Screams. Limbs made of circuits and metal scattered across the ground like seeds that would bare no fruit. Broken images. A torn mind. These came and went when an Exo dreamed, if you could call it that. Sometimes it was more peaceful depending on who you would ask. Most others, like Iris-9, would tell the opposite. Battles. War. Worlds collapsing around everything. The tower where they were made and where they ended everyone they had ever met. Weren't they made for war after all? Exo's, like the Awoken on Earth, were enigma's to humanity and themselves. Yet the three all were intertwined in a struggle that none fully comprehended. It was odd to dwell on the unknown and the extreme measures often taken to try and understand. Thanatonauts purposely dying and seeking answers, Exo's recreating the process by firing particle beams into their skulls to dig out scattered memories. It was all so curious, all so disturbing.

Iris wondered a great deal about what she was, what she had been, like most other Guardians. She was no Trinary Star cultist by any means, but there were questions she sought answers to. Questions she was afraid to ask. Being one of Ikora's Hidden had its advantages to finding them, allowing her to travel anywhere without seeming to have an ulterior motive. She was loyal, fought the Darkness with all the Light she could bring into the world, yet how long must they battle the unknown? She wasn't afraid, the trophies from foes she had slain were proof enough of that. She was tired. Tired of not knowing what she was, what she fought was, what everything around her was. Tired of the fighting and losing. One thing Exo's were good at though was pushing exhaustion aside. To accomplish anything, they first had to live. Centuries after the collapse and that was still a struggle.

Iris was well versed in survival when it came to eluding foes, singling them out and eliminating them. The harsh environment of Mars, however, was a foe she had not expected to be so formidable. She sat in silence inside of a darkened room of the Buried City, waiting for Cayde's contact. There had been stories about the man, just like the tales of older legends. In times like these, it was hard to believe them all. Did Saint-14 actually cave in a Kell's skull with a head-butt? Was this renegade Guardian she about to meet really a marksman to rival Efrideet? Some skepticism never hurt anyone. During the debriefing, Cayde had given her a list of armor calibrations his contact recommended for the scorching sands of this barren wasteland. They had proved valuable, even if a little off due to the changes being intended for a human. The tweaks had been made and now coolant was pumped into her body to combat the heat, wind guards were fitted, and a clear protective film was placed over the lens of her helmet.

The _Ghost Angel_ armor set was one perfect for espionage and assassinations. Her line of work. Triple-weaved rubber-plasm, light, durable, and above all, silent. The armor itself wasn't bulky and only covered the vital areas with extra wired plating, or along the forearms and legs. The rest was a tight camouflaged suit, shader programmable to match the surroundings. Instead of an open visor, the helmet had a large lens mounted near the forehead, capturing the view and displaying it inside the helm for her to see. The plated respirator around the mouth was shaped like a sideways ' _X'_ , with the top half fluidly molding into the cheekbones and the shorter bottom half pointing outwards. Covering the headpiece was a hooded cloak, twin pieces of fabric hung down the back like a tapestry, connected by three diagonal pieces of hard leather sewn into the cloth. Embroidered along the side of the cloak was a saying, " _We are an army of the chosen dead._ " The leather housed metal clips that held up one of her weapons, a shotgun called, _The Invisible Hand M7_. In her lap as she sat on an old storage crate was a rifle called, _The Saterienne Rapier_. At her side rested a silenced side arm, _Havoc Pigeon_.

A sheathe held the Exo's most used and deadliest weapon. A knife that was a few inches longer than the standard issue, made with the same utilitarian design and materials that allowed it to be charged with Light. She called it, _Knife_. Let the gun and armor smiths come up with nonsensical names, Iris didn't need those. Just her Light surrounding her, bending the visible waves to hide her from sight, and an exposed throat. Or radiolarian core. All depended on what she was killing. Due to the nature of this mission, she had decided against having a heavier weapon at the ready. Worst case, Veil could transmat a launcher and synth. The Cabal were big after all. Veil, her Ghost, floated around the room as if pacing, a faint buzz among the howling winds outside. Her shell was a smooth black color and had sharp points sprouting out diagonally in a backwards angle from the center.

"Where is he?" Veil asked in her motherly voice, as if worried.

Iris continued to wipe the sand off her rifle and gave no response.

Veil floated over to the wall and gazed out of the nearly closed metal shutters. "I'm rereading the debrief now. Done. It clearly stated that we would make contact here, at this specific room. In…excuse me, I'm bad with Martian time."

Iris only chuckled as she worked.

"Oh you hush!" her Ghost scolded. "Two minutes! I don't see anyone out there at all."

"He probably doesn't want to be seen. I imagine he isn't called _The Desert Fox_ for no reason."

Veil floated from the window but continued to do her equivalent of pacing.

"I'm sure he's fine," Iris reassured. "We're early."

Minutes passed. The remainder of what time was left was coming to an end. Veil began to count down the last few seconds. "Three, two, one-"

In the corner of the room a small squared section of the floor rose up on a hinge. Iris rolled over the crate she was previously sitting on and made a grab for her rifle, only to find a hooded Guardian climbing up from the hatch with a large hand canon already leveled at her. "No need for that." He said, voice cold and serious.

Her hand halted over her weapon, the other discreetly moving behind the cover of the crate to the side arm holstered at her hip. "You seem to need yours."

The hatch behind him closed on its own, a soft series of clicks sounded as it secured itself shut. "Unnecessary noise is something I try to avoid. One shot is all I need, not sure about you."

Iris' eyes narrowed as slowly drew out the sidearm from cover, the rest of her frozen under gunpoint. Veil floated over. "Looks like the Fox finally came out of its den. It seems grouchy." The Ghost teased.

"I wasn't late." He replied, turning his head. "And grouchy? _Eh_ …"

"We still were waiting on you."

The man shrugged. "Not my problem. I was monitoring the target you're both here to help me with."

Iris sized the man up. He was of average height, thinner build. No other visible weapons on him besides a knife at his side and his gun pointed at her. She recognized the design of his armor, _Dustwalker_ , because it was remarkably similar to her own. His was a more appropriate color to blend into the sand of Mars, while hers was the original bright red. The materials in his were less about stealth, focusing more on survivability in the Martian sands by having a hardened shell design with shiftwire-lining. The helmet still had the same breathing respirator as hers on the bottom. A noticeable difference on the helmet was the thin line visor instead of a seeing lens. A simple but durable cloak covered his back, sporting three plain red stripes. At first glance those appeared to be a vague symbol of the New Monarchy, but what would a renegade have to do with them?

Pushing the inquiry aside, Iris' pointed her silenced sidearm at the momentarily distracted Fox. "Drop it." She ordered.

He _clicked_ his tongue in annoyance a few times. "Let's not tell the Cabal where we are."

"Oh this little one won't stir the giants. You're brains, however, would be a different story."

The man's cannon never moved from Iris' skull. His head turned slowly back to face her. "Same side, missy. Unless you were sent to kill me."

"If I wanted you dead, I'd be talking to a corpse right now."

He gave a dry laughed and holstered his large revolver. "Let's stop with the alpha act."

She lowered her weapon to rest on the crate, still in her hands and pointed at the Fox. "I'm just making sure I can trust you. Insulting my aim sure was a fine start."

"You're obviously equipped for close quarters work. No offense, but in my experience with those that prefer that, they take a few more shots." He brushed some sand off his gloves. "Wasn't going to shoot you anyways, just hoped the threat of it was enough. You always on edge like this?" He asked.

"I don't often deal with renegades." Iris answered.

"I can say the same with Vanguard."

"Well, I prefer to work alone."

"Me too."

She paused, trying to decide if it their similarities were a good thing. "I'm here as a sign of the Vanguard's good will. I don't know what happened in the past and I personally don't care. For now, we work together. I'm designated as Iris-9."

"And I'm Veil." Her Ghost added.

"I've been called a few different things. Most in the end just settle on Fox."

"Haven't you given yourself a name?" She asked.

Fox sighed. "Look, I'd love to share my life story, or lack thereof, with you. I'm sure that's why you came all the way here, right?"

"I just-"

"-It's not important to the task at hand, and I don't know you. I could care less what you call me." Fox removed a device from his cloak and began to fiddle with it.

"Well in that case," Iris mused. "How do you feel about _Asshole_?"

Fox paused from his tinkering and looked up at her. "That's funny, coming from the one still holding a gun."

"I'm sorry, does it scare you?"

Veil turned to her, "Don't be so-"

Before the Ghost could finish its sentence, Fox became a ghostly blur. Dark shadows coated his form as he moved unbelievably fast in a roll towards her. Iris tried to raise her sidearm, only to be met with solid resistance as Fox appeared, one hand holding her weapon at bay while the other had a knife to her throat. Even for an Exo, severed circuits at the jugular could prove fatal.

"Stop fighting!" Veil pleaded.

"I'm just proving a point. Be as smug as you want, I could end you all the same." The pressure of his knife had against her lessened. "Now, can we get down to business?"

Iris gave a silent nod and his blade thankfully went back into its sheath. Her suit began to pump coolant to lower her rising temperature. "The stories are true then. You're one of them. Those that can touch the Void."

Fox said nothing as he went back to his previous task. He set the cylinder shaped object on the crate and it sprung to life, showering the open space above it in light. Soon the light took a form of a video feed. On the translucent screen was a Cabal structure being viewed from atop a sand dune. "This is where he is."

"Bracus Tho'ourg." Iris said. The file on him was larger than most Cabal and she had done her homework. Tho'ourg was one of the first commanders encountered by City forces and it hadn't ended well. Using only a tiny fraction of available Cabal troops, Tho'ourg had been able to secure the Buried City against the Vanguard's scouts and the Vex, occupying it ever since setting up their exclusion zone. He wasn't the biggest fish to fry, but the Vanguard had left Mars and Luna relatively untouched until now. Any ground they could gain was a victory. Why this renegade wanted the Bracus dead was a mystery to her. If it got him to work more with the City, and the Cabal suffered losses, it would be a win-win for the Vanguard.

Fox nodded. "He's slippery. Usually has some Psions in tow and they've given me trouble. This outpost is the first time he's been stationed away from the core of the exclusion zone for years. My guess is because of the Vex. The Cabal found some large gate, made the machines angry I take it. Been fighting for a while now."

"Why do you want him dead?" Iris asked.

"Not important."

The man was sealed tight. Anything she had tried to pull up about him in the tower was either blacked out or restricted. He wasn't classified as a threat, but something clearly had happened in the past that the Vanguard did not like. She didn't press the issue. "Then why do you need my help to kill him?"

"Those Psions I mentioned? I'm pretty sure they're from Tha'aurn's forces. Not full fledge Flayers, but they know some of their tricks. Their often flanked by a wall of Phalanx on either side and hard to get at. If their alive and near Tho'ourg, I can't kill him. I shot him once while he was battling two Minotaur models in a skirmish. I thought for sure his shields must have been weakened." Fox mimicked holding a rifle and aiming it. "Had his head zeroed in for the distance. He bested those two, let out a war cry to announce his victory. More importantly, he stood still. Shot hit him right in the side of the head. He turned like it was a fly bothering him, blasting the nearest Vex away. Didn't even realize someone had tried to kill him." He turned and observed the image on display.

"What do the Psions have to do with that?" Iris asked.

"They're feeding energy to the shields. As long as they're nearby, I've never seen his shields fail. I can't get to him without the Psions gone and I certainly can't be in two places at once. They die, and Tho'ourg does the Cabal equivalent of retreating. Calling in reinforcements."

Iris smiled faintly in her helmet. "That's where I come in?"

Fox nodded. "If the Vanguard sent what I asked for, yes."

"And that was?"

"The sneakiest son of a bitch you have that's not an idiot." Fox quoted.

Iris felt a bit of pride bubbling inside her. Ikora had handpicked her for this. "I'm sure they sent you my records. Anything you didn't like?"

"Well for starters," Fox said while glancing back in her direction, "Might want to change that bright red color. Mars is red, but not _that_ red. I can't imagine how you plan to sneak around like that."

The Exo let her Light flow outwards and surround her. It coated her in seconds and caused her to vanish. "Like this." It wasn't true invisibility. Those who knew what to look for could still see her outline almost like a mirage.

"I know how that works." Fox scolded. "But you can't always rely on your Light. Have your Ghost scan my shader, it's best to blend in."

Iris sighed while uncloaking, "Do as he says, Veil." It wasn't the worst idea. As her Ghost showered the man with blue light, she studied the Cabal base on screen. "So we get our target out in the open, Psions in tow near the back. I take them out, you line up a shot, mission accomplished?"

"A nice and simple way of putting it. Won't be that easy. The Cabal have to be drawn out of the base first."

"I could cause a distraction." Iris suggested.

Fox shook his head while studying the feed. "Can't have them onto you or you'll never get close to the Psions."

"Then do you have a plan?"

"Storms about to pick up. It'll cover us as we move. I've got some guided armaments that we can leave up on high ground. I'll target the Vex, make them think the Cabal are attacking so they'll deploy counter measures against the base. Then the Cabal won't see you coming." Fox stared at the screen and began a slow laugh, as if realizing something.

"What's so funny?" She asked.

Fox continued to laugh, this time silently to himself. "I just realized it. Your name, Iris-9? Won't see you coming?"

"I don't get it."

"Iris? Like the part of an eye? _Nein_? Like the German word for no?" He paused, letting it sink in.

She sighed heavily. "I need a memory wipe just to forget that joke."

* * *

The sandstorm had gotten worse. Howling winds threw up a blinding amount of the Martian sand that obscured everything not immediately in front of her. Ideal for stealth and not quite as dangerous as charging a Cabal entrenchment head on. All of Foxes nit picking about armor adjustments that seemed laughable at first were greatly welcomed now. If she hadn't secured her cloak like he recommended, the storm would have likely it away by now. Iris battled against the current, struggling to keep pace with the much more experienced Fox. They slowly crawled up a dune, staying low to the ground to avoid the worst of the storm. Their target was in the Valley of the Kings. Wouldn't have been a bad trip by ship or sparrow, however, the storm ruled those out as viable options. Fox suggested they go over the Cabals underground tunnels, expecting them to be heavily crowded during the storm. The route was proving slow and turbulent. More importantly, it was safe. Cabal wouldn't have their bulky prowlers in the sky to spot the pair crawling up the mountainous dunes. Even if they were reckless enough to put one of those in the air, it would be nearly impossible to spot them from the sky.

Iris was familiar with patience to achieve an objective, hiding for days at a time for the right moment to strike. Here, her patience was thin in the storm. Slowly, hours passed on the move above the dunes. Occasionally when the storm would surge, Fox would recommend holding onto rocks or dead husks of trees and wait for it to die down. Other than that, it was rather uneventful and it was aggravating. The man didn't want to answer any of her questions along the way, keeping silent and forcing her to try and match his pace. Iris hadn't fought the Cabal directly on Mars, but she had encountered them before in other places. Phobos, Deimos. Even a few operations in the Reef where a group of Cabal had gone rogue. They were her least favorite. Nothing about them was subtle.

"Gal, how's the storm where you're at?" Fox asked over the comms channel.

A voice she assumed was his Ghost responded. _"Clearing. Still windy."_

"Set up the ordinance." Fox ordered.

Iris lost track of how long they crawled across the sand dunes. Eventually, the storm did lighten up and they could finally stand. Soon the ground became rocky and they had to climb their way up jagged slopes. They came across a gap in the rocks, dropping below in a small valley like path that Fox called _Giants Pass_. Without a word he ran to the gap and jumped out into the opening, then jumped again off of the air as if it was solid. Fox fluidly crossed and landed on the other side, turning to look back at her. The distance of the jump gave her pause. Slowly, Iris stepped back as she gauged the gap. Then she ran and leapt. Channeling her Light, Iris charged herself with it and ripped herself forward in a hole through space, Blinking diagonally in the air to reappear at another point in a flash of blue Light. She began to fall and came up short on the jump, the edge of the other side racing to meet her.

Iris drew her blade and slammed it into the Martian rock, the knife dragging downward along the side before stopping her fall. It wasn't a dangerous drop, but climbing up the slope was valuable time she did not want to waste. Part of her didn't want to look foolish in front of Fox. Using her favored weapon as a tool, the Exo began to scale up the cliff and was met with an extended hand. Fox helped hoist her over without a word and pressed on up the rocks. It wasn't long until a clearing came into view from their high vantage point. Symmetrical Vex structures rose up far away to her left, square and rectangular rocks interlacing into odd shapes were scattered in such a way that it formed a path. Towering above those strange shapes was a large circular Vex gate held up at a slight angle with no visible support. A dark blue and black gaseous substance seemed to leak out around the edges. Iris used her seeing lens to zoom in and study the gate. A line of cables sprouted out of the sand near the Vex gate, disappearing and reappearing under the swirls of small dunes. She traced it all the way to the Cabal encampment below them to the right. Where they studying the gate? Using it as a power source?

"You getting this?" She asked Veil.

"Been recording for a while, dear." Her Ghost answered.

The Cabal outpost was nestled at the base of the cliff they were standing on. There was a bridge like structure near the front entrance with arch openings below. Above was a pathway that led to a watch post on the far side on the opposite cliff wall. The Cabal cables forked around the base of the gate up into that watch post. Perhaps a means to warn them if Vex came out of the gate? In the base was a ramp that led to supply platform with a large opening dug into the cliff. They had dug through an entire cliff wall just for a more direct supply route. Iris found that both amusing and unsettling. On the opposite cliff side was a massive land tank, far in the distance with only the top of the lumbering vehicle showing above the rocks. The Vanguard had reports and images of the massive mobile forts, yet it did little to prepare her for how large it actually was. Fox hunched low and gestured for her to do the same. A Ghost floated up from the edge and over to them. Foxes Ghost was heavily modified, more so than any other she had ever seen.

It had a slim and simple orb shape around the back of its eye with no pointed edges or geometry like the standard Ghost shell that bore a camouflage pattern to blend into the Martian Sands. Around the edges of the eye were a series of circular ridges that slowly rose up to the base of lens. Before she could wonder what the strange design was for, the Ghost turned and extended its eyes out from the base like a telescope and looked out over the Cabal outpost.

"Bringing ordinance online." It announced, calm and relaxed. "Checking. Testing. Confirmed. All good." It turned back to face them, eye retracting inward.

Iris smiled in her helmet. "So, your Ghost is your spotter? Interesting design. What's _Gal_ short for?"

"Galileo." Fox answered.

His Ghost sighed. "He picked it out."

"I figured." Iris said dryly.

Gal floated over to his guardian and transmatted a weapon into his hands. It was a sniper rifle covered in camouflaged cargo netting around the modified scope and stock of the weapon. The plating along the rifle as well as the netting were patterned in a color to match his armor. It had a bipod tucked upwards under its very long barrel.

Fox began adjusting the weapon. "Synch the guidance systems, Gal. It's almost show time."

"What is _that_?" Iris asked, eying the rifle.

"Something that I have a great deal of." He paused in his adjustments, looking up to her briefly as if awaiting some reaction. "A gift to end a debt, not many like it. Get ready, I'm about to ring that gate like a gong."

The Exo went prone on the rocky perch, overlooking the area with Fox. His Ghost floated low beside him, eye extended out as it observed the gate. "Activity seems normal. Few heavy duty Minotaur models below, a Hydra as well."

That was _normal?_ What was on the other side of this thing? Fox pulled down his bipod and harshly settled it down between some loose rocks before looking into the lens. He let out a breath as he adjusted himself on the rocky floor.

"Iris." He said suddenly. "Are you ready?"

"Yes."

Fox paused for a moment as he toggled his scope. "Let me rephrase that. This task…is single handedly the most important thing to me. I'm not one for words, but I'll try anyways. Everything my life from before and my life now has come down to this moment. The unexpected will happen, thing will always go wrong, but you will be perfect. I need you to be. I don't expect you to understand. Help me do this, and anything you or the Vanguard could ask of me is yours."

Iris glanced at the renegade. He kept the scope pressed to his visor after he spoke in silence. The man had said the words calmly, yet they had been the most emotional thing she had heard from him in their short duration together. Why this mattered so much to him, she still didn't know. From his words, however, she could glimpse the sincerity behind them. She felt her core temperature rising and clenched her hands into fist. "I'll atomize those Psions into Arc dust, put dozens of holes in them with my blade, break them in half with my hands if I need to. Don't worry about me, just make sure you can actually use that thing."

"Sometimes, I wish I could forget how." Fox replied sadly. There was a pause as he toggled a switch on his weapon. "Ready to fire on my mark, Gal." Iris could hear a soft beeping grow in intensity as he acquired his target through the lens of his rifle. "Mark."

A series of loud explosions sounded not too far on the opposite cliff side. A trio of rockets rose up into the air with a hiss, slowly arching forward towards the Vex gate.

"Mark."

Another trio shot forth into the air as the first flew like an arrow straight into a side of the gate, impacting in a bright display as they dropped secondary cluster bombs down onto the Vex stationed below. The second salvo raced towards the other side and impacted successfully as well. Both hits seemed to do nothing to the gate, only destroying the Vex patrolling around it. The surrounding area soon misted over in a haze of electronically charged fog that was the forewarning of Vex teleportation.

"That did the trick." Gal observed.

The swarm of machines that Iris associated with that fog appeared as she expected. One rather large thing was different this time. A Cyclops appeared off to the side of the gate, stationed atop of a flat Vex stone. It was a large stationary machine platform she had encountered before. The core of the machine was held up by a slanted base support with the eye in the center glowing an angry violet. The plated frame around the core was oddly reminiscent of the front of a standard Ghost shell but with more rivets and the signature Vex curved design. From the sides of the core were two protrusions that jutted out and folded upwards in a wing shape.

"Down!" Fox cried, jamming the scope up to his visor.

Iris dropped completely prone, helmet almost slamming into the rocks as she cloaked herself in Light. Before she could wonder why Fox hadn't taken cover, his form also became shrouded. The thoughts of how he done that while wielding the Void left her when the Cyclops began to bombard the Cabal base to their side, violently shaking the cliffside. Loud alarms began to blare throughout the structure.

"Definitely did the trick." Veil agreed across comms.

Soon the air was thick with cries of rallying Cabal surging forward to meet the Vex threat. Still cloaked, Iris rose up and assessed the battlefield. Vex were everywhere in the dunes near the gate. The majority were composed of the basic Goblin models, a lanky exoskeleton like bronze chassis that walked on two legs. It had a singular red glowing eye on its headpiece that was shaped like a hand fan with a shining white radiolarian core at their stomachs. A few of the larger Minotaur models stood out amongst the Goblins. They had a rounder limbs that made them appear muscular with a much wider torso that had no exposed radiolaria core. Back near the gate were Hobgoblins around the Cyclops, similar in design to their Goblin counterparts. Their head piece had a twin horn shape rather than a fan and their arms curved oddly with large shoulder plating jutting out near the elbows. Their line rifles began to glow as they charged, filling the air with bright red lines that raced towards Cabal lines. Hopefully Fox didn't get into a sniper fight with them. The space between the two sides soon was colored with varying munitions being fired both ways. Streaks of red lines from slap and line rifles, purple orbs of strange matter from torch cannons and the Cyclops' eye, flashes and explosions from the Cabal micro rockets. It was chaotic.

Outside at the front of their base, the Cabal began to form a line of overlapping Phalanx shields. The soldiers huddled behind their massive shields as they took extreme punishment from the Vex. Cabal were large creatures, some much more than others. Bulky pressurized armor covered them from head to toe, perhaps making them seem even larger than they actually were. Some had compared their armored appearance to that of a turtles shell, and their exposed faces to a hippopotamus. As ugly as they were big. The only exception were the mysterious Psions. They were a significantly smaller in size when compared to your typical Cabal solider, likely a different race entirely. Much wasn't known about them besides their strange combat abilities. The Cabal Phalanx fired their slug rifles blindly over the top of their shields, sending a rapid spray of micro rockets into the oncoming horde of machines. The Cyclops answered this by sending a Void blast into a section of the shields, violently blast a hole in their line. The Cabal adjusted and merged together to fill the gap, fearless of the machine firing again.

More troops began to swarm out into the base. Legionaries used jump packs to leap to the top of the gate and fire down on the Vex. A Centurion rank Cabal jump packed over the Phalanx line and out into the opening. His armor was bore a bright white and orange color and much different than a typical solider. Larger, helmet more angular than round, wing like antenna extending from the back. A faint red aura began to radiate around the beast as its protective shield formed. It roared loudly, firing rounds from its mortar like projection rifle into a doomed Goblin. Bracus Tho'ourg. Iris glanced back down into the heart of the base, looking for the Psions. Amongst the swarm of advancing Cabal was a square block of intricately locked Phalanx shields moving slowly towards the gate. They had to be in there. Getting to them would be a challenge.

"Found my targets. I'll start making my way down." Iris said, maintaining her cloak as she rose. Fox said nothing and continued to watch his target through the scope of his rifle that somehow had made him invisible. Tho'ourg took a direct blast from the Cyclops and didn't even flinch as he pressed forward. The Exo began to slowly make her way down the side of the cliff, Cabal base below her emptying out into the skirmish. More of the electronic fog appeared in the distance, heralding the arrival of Vex reinforcements. Iris' feet touched down on a spire as her cloak began fading. She crouched down low for cover and waited for it to recharge before continuing. An explosion shook the spire but she held steady and leapt off to a lower landing. Soon she arrived on the loading ramp in the rear of the outpost, alone. Not too far up ahead above the gate stood a few legionaries firing down into the chaos.

"Clear down here for now. Moving up." She said over the comm.

 _"No clear shot for me just yet."_ Fox replied.

Iris gracefully leapt up onto a large metal canister and then onto the wall, silently landing behind a Cabal solider. She drew her side arm, hopping up onto the larger creatures arm and gripping its shoulder with one hand while she jammed the silenced weapons barrel into an opening at the neck. After a few merciless trigger pulls, the creature went down with a spray of oily black blood and a low groan. She leapt off the falling giant and ran towards the cover of a roofed hut like structure on the bridge to cloak herself once again. The other side had three more soldiers engaging the Vex from high ground. Carefully she snuck past the first one and positioned herself behind the one in the middle of the three. A flurry of silent shots shots from her Havoc Pidgeon downed the first one to her left, then the one to her right. The magazine expectedly clicked empty and the Exo was already reaching for her knife. Channeling her Light, Iris charged the blade with Arc briefly as she Blinked upward just enough to stab downward into the base of the Cabal's neck. It fell down, twitching in spasms though already dead. The remaining Light left in the knife quickly flowed back around her, cloaking her from sight once again.

She had been completely unnoticed in the mist of the fighting down below. The testudo formation of Phalanx had just barely pushed beyond the outpost, remaining stationary as the rest of the troops advanced past the original line of Phalanx that had been battered thoroughly. Tho'ourg and his Psion charged shields were in the thick of the Vex, drawing most their fire. Iris used her lens to scope in on the testudo shield wall. The back of them was of course the most exposed, but who knew how many she would have to shoot through to get to the Psions. That wouldn't work, then she would be fighting the full force of the rear line. Iris paused as she studied the formation. Cabal shields weren't a symmetrical shape. Overlapped as they were, a few small gaps were exposed at the top. Algorithms flashed quickly through her circuits, measuring the gap between the shields. She could make herself fit.

"Ready to engage my targets." She relayed to Fox.

 _"Roger. Wait for-"_

The thunderous boom of a Cabal Harvester interrupted, dropping low to the ground from the sky, a wave of sand rising up and washing over Vex. The bulky troopship blasted the Cyclops right in the eye with its missile turrets repeatedly until the machine sporadically began to flail around, randomly letting loose blasts of Void in all directions. From the Harvester leapt something of equal firepower to the Vex gun platform. A Colossus. Living up to its name, it landed with a echoing thud and rose to full height to tower above Cabal and Minotaur alike. Immense plating covered the creature from all sides from its jutting round pauldrons, to leg guards. The thing almost seemed a machine in itself. Armed with an artillery pack on the back and a heavy repeating slug thrower held in both hands, the Colossus roared and fired a barrage of rapid micro rockets into the Cyclops. Streaks from line rifles slammed into the hulking Cabal repeatedly, but it still kept firing.

Iris couldn't hear anything over the sounds of battle. The Cabal reinforcements did not bode well. "I can't hear you, wait for what?" Faintly she tried to make out what was being said over the comms to no avail. "Veil, amplify." The Exo ordered.

Foxes voice became uncomfortably loud and clear. _"Engage! Engage now!"_

Cursing, she sprinted towards the edge urgently, leaping out in the air and Blinked. Iris appeared above the formation and landed on top of the shields running. She drew a device from her bandolier and charged it with Light as she stopped above an opening near the center. If the Cabal had felt her standing atop the shields, they hadn't reacted yet. Now armed, Iris threw the Flux grenade between the gap in the shields and was rewarded with the satisfying sound of rapid beeping. Quickly, the Exo blinked directly upwards and drew her knife as the grenade detonated, taking two of the inner shield bearers down and opening a massive hole in the formation that she now fell into. Cabal bellowed loudly in surprise at her appearance near the corpses. A trio of Psions stood in a line ahead of her, nestled between the sides of the Phalanx. The shorter creatures turned to face her, long gangly arms recoiling in shock, strange glowing helmets with long pointed mouthpieces staring back blankly. One was pulsating with a bright red Solar aura.

She entered the blade trance.

Even with the subconscious processing power of an Exo's mind, entering the trance was a heightening experience like no other. Time seemed to slow. Seconds became a lifetime. Arc Light coursed through her, crackling out violently in a blue aura that charged her form and knife. Iris flicked the blade into a reverse grip and jumped, spinning in the air rapidly with her weapon extended and discharging Light. The pulse blasted outwards and consumed nearby Cabal in a brilliant blue display. She sent out another wave again for good measure before getting her bearings. Most of the formation was gone save for the scattered few near the front end. Only the Psion that had been glowing had been killed. For a few moments, Iris was dumbfounded. The remaining Cabal roared in anger. The furthest Psions from her began to emit a purple Void aura, the closest one charged forward screeching. Blade still coursing with Light, Iris met the charge head on and slashed at the creature multiple times. The smaller creature didn't seem to notice as it fired the slug rifle into her.

Slowly a realization came over her. The Psions were linked to Tho'ourg, but also themselves. Like a chain. Those funneling the power were vulnerable. Before Iris could act on it, A Phalanx charged towards her with its shield raised up to strike. She dodged to the side and ran towards the glowing Psion only to be blocked by another Phalanx, then another. The Exo was moments away from Blinking when a shield slammed her back down onto the ground harshly, extinguishing her trance. Her suit blared an alarm as her shield went down. Fox was calling out something over the comms but she couldn't hear as her circuits delivered the message of pain to her core. Veil frantically responded. Iris strenuously looked up as a Cabal approached her, slug rifle raised. She had failed. It pained her in those slow moments to think of that. They would kill her and smash Veil into the sand to join her.

A low hum began to resonate off in the distance and grew rapidly closer as a flash of brilliant violet appeared from behind the Cabal. A hiss of energy sounded and tendrils of Void Light lashed out and gripped the surrounding Cabal harshly. Some dropped their weapons and flailed against the Light to no avail, others fell to the ground and tried to grip onto something as the tendrils began to pull them towards the epicenter of Light like a black hole. Iris stared in bewilderment, seeing the power of the Dusk Bow at work for the first time in person. The size of the creature of front of her did little to help it against the force of Light meant to trap it. A tracer that left a bright blue trail passed through the soldier's helmet, spraying black blood briefly before the corpse imploded in on itself as Void Light consumed it. The tendril attached to that Phalanx grew brightly and rushed back to the center of the tether, causing the other lines to grow brightly. The other Cabal howled in pain. Another tracer, another dead Cabal, and the tendrils grew even brighter.

Iris felt her Light surrounding herself for protection once again and rose slowly, drawing her _Invisible Hand_. While connected to the tether, the Cabal were surprisingly easy to put down, vanishing in a bright display of muzzle discharge and Void Light. Each one she felled seemed to make the others weaker, one legionnaire collapsed and seemed to die outright from the agonizing connection. A third tracer hit the glowing Psions shield, extinguishing the protective field and allowed Iris to finish it off. Fox likely only had one shot left in his magazine and she intended to make it count. She found the remaining Psion on its knees in pain as a blue Arc aura appeared around it, the last link in the chain for Tho'ourg. Iris expelled a spent shell from her weapon and readied another as she pointed the barrel against the things head and fired.

A strong gust of sand assaulted her. Iris turned to see the Cabal Harvester floating down towards her, gun turret charging. The Exo inwardly sighed, her task completed. The craft would try to blow Veil and herself to pieces, but Fox would get his shot on Tho'ourg. Iris readied herself, attempting to time her Blink to dodge Harvester's missile. A shot rang out once again. The blue tracer impacted a vertical thruster on one of the crafts wings. There was a flash of fire as the thruster exploded and the Harvester began to spin, trailing smoke from its wing as it struggled maintain flight. The ship crashed into the cliff and began to break apart on its way down to the dunes before going up in flame. Iris watched in awe at the precision. Why didn't he take the shot? Was there another in the mag? Did he have the reload? A fierce roar sounded in the distance. The Colossus had turned to face the direction of the outpost. From its back was an explosion of force. A salvo of large rockets raced out high into the air and arced towards the vantage point Fox had fired from. Fragments of Martian rock was blasted away on impact. The giant of a Cabal began to fire up the cliff with its weapon. A shot rang out, blue tracer missing Tho'ourg by a few feet as he fired waves of rockets towards her. Iris cursed and turned, Blinking away and heading towards the outpost.

Static sounded over the comms, followed by Foxes strained voice. _"Run."_

"Already on it." Iris replied.

She could feel Veil's presence creating the warmth of Light in her systems. "I'm glad you're okay."

Iris blasted a Cabal that appeared around the corner of the gate as she ran back through it. "That could change. I need a route to Fox."

"Finding one now."

Hours had passed. There had been radio silence for most that duration with only a single Nav point on display for Iris to head towards. Most of it had been spent avoiding Cabal harvesters that flew on patrol overhead, she seemed to have the harder route than Fox. Eventually, the Exo found him sitting on the root of a dead tree in the dunes near the Buried City, his back to her. The man had his cloak removed and held it in his lap as if examining the pattern on the back. Iris slowly approached the sulking Hunter, not sure what to say.

"You okay?" Fox suddenly asked.

Iris took a seat next to him on the root. "Thanks to you, yes." She studied the man for a moment as he continued to look at the cape. "How many rounds does that gun of yours have in the magazine?"

"Four."

"You could have gone for your target. Why did you shoot the Harvester?" Iris asked.

Fox sat in silence for a long while as the winds carried small clouds of sands around them. "It's over and done with."

"No," Iris said firmly. "You said it yourself, all that mattered was Tho'ourg. You had that opportunity. Not that I'm ungrateful, but maybe Veil would have survived and brought me back. Maybe I could have stayed alive. Why didn't you take the shot?" She had to know.

His hands balled into fists while holding the cape. "Thought I could reload, take another shot. Had to rise up and loose the advantage of my bipod to do it, but I didn't anticipate them blasting the cliff like that. Shot went wide, that's on me."

It didn't add up to her. "But why risk it? You already saved me with your Bow."

"Why does it matter?"

"I'm used to completing my missions," Iris said while letting out a frustrated laugh. "It's what I would have done, so it's…bothering me."

"You'd rather be dead?"

Iris sighed. "Of course not. I don't know why you want Tho'ourg dead, but you wanted it badly. I'm trying to make sense of why I'm still alive."

"I saved your ass?" Fox said dryly. She punched his shoulder. Not hard, just enough to hurt. He slowly looked up from the cloak and stared off across the distant sands. "I've been down this route before. Didn't want history repeating itself. I'm not going to watch another person die under my gaze knowing I could have done something."

She studied the man for a moment before looking at the cloak in his hands and the marks it bore. Three red lines. Iris began to understand. "Vermilion stripes."

He nodded. "I've been around a while. I don't know you as well as I knew them. They changed my life. Still, you fought with me. For me. I wasn't eager to add you as another stripe to his cloak." Fox turned to look at her. "You did your part. The Psions are dead. Soon, I'll be able to bury these stripes on that bastard's corpse."

Iris put a hand on his shoulder. "Well, thank you. For what it's worth, I'd don a stripe for you. I usually work alone, so not many people I'd do that for."

Fox chuckled. "Probably would wipe that red line across your ass, wouldn't you?"

"You caught me." Iris smiled in her helmet. "Hopefully I never have to do that."

The man slowly turned back to look at the cloak. "Sooner or later, every Hunter dons the vermilion stripe."

* * *

((So it has been a while since I updated, and I'm sorry for that. In summary, apart from being absurdly busy and short staffed at work, my wife and I just had our first child on August 6th. The build up to that had been very stressful and time consuming, but everything has been fine and life has been a busy and amazing mess. I'm of course planning to keep updating. Hopefully, the next time won't take as long. Oh, it's a girl!))


	12. Chapter 9

_"Your training is progressing nicely, Guardian. The call of the Striker is a difficult one, putting us on the front lines of a skirmish. Your heavy fist will turn the tide in many battles to come."_ —Zavala

* * *

A ping of red on his six, swivel, fire. Red at three, fire, reload. Directly in front, punch, scan. Two targets, prioritize the closet while limiting the others field of fire, finish the second and hope your shields hold. Reload, scan, target acquired, fire.

 _"It is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, Guardian."_ _The Speaker said._

Three targets, all different directions, clear a path through one and take cover.

 _Sheepishly he responded, "My apologies for not coming sooner. I had no clue how many messages were waiting. My mentor was angry and practically drug me out to train immediately."_

Reload, assess remaining targets, engage.

 _A soft chuckle sounded from behind the strange mask of the white robbed figure. "Do not fret. I only wished to welcome you to the City. I hope that those you saved, as well as yourself, find peace here."_

Fire, fire, fire.

 _"My people from…before…had thought that under the Traveler they would find a promised land. It seems like their faith wasn't misplaced." He said with a sad smile._

Empty, reload, out of ammo.

 _"It hasn't always been that way." The Speaker said while turning to looking out of his chamber to the City below and the Traveler above. "There were times when we didn't have walls. Times where we fought each other. Even now the people are still scared. Of the Fallen, the Hive on Luna. They aren't the worst of what is out there. The Darkness is coming back, Titan."_

Deploy synth with Ghost.

 _There were so many questions he wanted to ask and the Speaker turned as if sensing this. "Like the newborns before you, I assume you have no end to your questions. Even more so given the unique nature of your memory. Sadly, I cannot provide all the answers, for even I too have my own questions."_

Magazines filled, reload.

 _"I've been reading as much as I can, trying to understand. There's a lot we don't even know. What exactly is the Darkness? Where is the Traveler from? I'll spare you the ones I know have no answer just yet. What can I do to help?" He asked._

Red on all sides, engage.

 _It felt as if the Speaker was smiling through the mask. "What you have already done. Your arrival was uplifting for the burdened Guardians, inspiring to the people. A freshly risen Guardian, full of promise. Your Ghost has chosen wisely. Learn well from the others, Guardian, and let loose your Light onto this darkened world."_

Not enough time.

 _Nodding, he began to ask others questions on his mind for as long as the Speaker had time for._

Ralis lost himself in the range, this particular room was isolated from the regular firing lines and set up for scenarios. Targets appeared randomly in all directions and angles, triggering his motion tracker as an alert and starting a timer. If he failed to shoot the target enough times before it ran out, the exercise ended in failure. Because the targets didn't have a fixed pattern, Ralis had attempted and failed numerous of times throughout the week. Now he was determined and practiced. Handling the weapon in his hands no longer felt sluggish or foreign, only an afterthought. The muzzled flashed brightly as he sprayed one of the many plain metal targets till it flipped back down into the ground. A click signaled the empty magazine. Ejecting the clip and loading a new one was smooth, a motion practiced countless times in the past month that no longer needed his gaze to be accomplished. Sometimes the motions felt like a brutal dance that was oddly therapeutic. Ralis often found himself reflecting on the events since he had started his arms training. The meeting with the Speaker and his inspiring words, the many defeats at the hands of his still nameless mentor in sparring, the Rhiner's weekly dinner tradition that had just started.

With the new clip inserted, the Titan rose and rushed down the last few targets, firing frantically to put them down. The clip emptied before the last one fell, so Ralis kept running and knocked it down with his fist. An alarm immediately sounded. Finally.

 _"Nice work."_ Bishop said in the helmet.

Ralis took a few deep breaths, "Thanks."

The scenario room was set up with scavenged parts from the surrounding area, resembling a rusted industrial complex one might find in Old Russia. Near the entrance was a box shaped control room with a blackened window. Out of that room walked an Exo, Steel-22, clad in full black armor. The machine was a walking armory of a Titan, wearing a chest plate called _The Armamentarium_ that had ammo secured to all sides of it. In the front of it were two cylinder like devices that Ralis had learned could channel a guardians Light. Instead of hurling an unstable charge that detonated, the devices could hold and manipulate the Light for more…creative effects. Steel was very proud of the apparently rare piece of armor and his modified quick-use synthesizer uplink.

The rest of his armor scanned as a _Spearhead Type 0_ model, jagged and not quite as bulky as the typical Titan armor he had seen. It had various pouches containing more magazines and ammo attached at the shoulders and legs. The round helmet had a visor shaped like two interconnecting upside-down triangles, and two swept back wing like protrusions over the ears. Steel-22 was an arms expert, and apparently a friend to his mentor. She had said if there had been anyone she knew of that could help him shoot, it was him. The training had been just as rigorous as the sparring. At one point, Steel was shooting at him while Ralis was supposed to hit another target. The flat and deep voice of the other Titan still echoed in his mind.

 _"Get used to firing while being shot at or you won't hit anything."_

The Exo had made him fire numerous weapons, all which he had failed miserably to perform with. Especially the hand cannons. The recoil was intense, even in full armor. Ralis had tried to adjust with a tighter grip and accidently crushed everything from the trigger on backwards in his hands. Steel hadn't appreciated that at all.

 _"Be careful with your strength. Field-repairing a snapped trigger is inconvenient."_

Steel concluded from the testing that precision wasn't his strong suite and recommended somethings that put out a lot of bullets to make up for it. With the Exo's help, Ralis purchased a fitting weapon for himself. An automatic rifle called, _Galahad-E_. It had a bulky plated smartmatter frame that was surprisingly smooth and colored blue with an orange under tint. A heavy long barrel extended at the end along with other devices on the sides of the frame. The Exo specified the modifications for the foundry Gunsmith to apply, adding a weighted counterbalance and a Red Dot-ORES sight. Costed a fair amount of Glimmer, but Steel assured him it was worth it. The training there after continued with just that weapon.

 _"Better a master of one than none."_

The Exo said he'd be observing him to see what other armament would complement how he fought. The training had become grueling, constant exercises done over and over till deemed acceptable. In the end, as Ralis stood there catching his breath, he appreciated the drilling. He had finally completed the final scenario in a passing time.

Steel approached, slowly clapping. "Well it's about time. You know this spot is usually for Cruicible training, not newborns. Only get to use it because, well, _her_." His mentor had avoided naming herself. Why he didn't know, but Steel had been told to avoid using it as well. Was it to frustrate him? It certainly was working. "She decided to step out after a while. Thought you wouldn't make it again I guess."

Ralis rose, stretching. "Figures." It was rare for just the two of them to be alone. He took this moment to pry. "How exactly did you two meet? I can't exactly see her making…friends."

"She had a room in the tower next to me a long time ago. Blew the wall between us apart with her Light." The Exo answered flatly.

He tried not to laugh. "And you became _friends_ from that?"

"Why not? It was impressive, even for an accident."

Blunt as ever. "Is that why your armor is so scorched?" Ralis asked, gesturing to the burns in his plate.

"Oh. Only this one, yeah. This burn's from a slug rifle. That one's a shock blade. This one...ah, yes." Steel chuckled. "Wei Ning gave me a hug."

"You knew Wei Ning?" Ralis exclaimed in surprise.

The Exo nodded.

"Why don't you fix the armor?" Ralis asked.

Steel looked back down to examine it. "I only keep the nicks that mean something. Helps me remember the lesson I learned from them. Plate is still structurally sound." He looked back up Ralis. "Strange that you know about Ning. She's been long gone."

"I've been doing a lot of reading. I like how she put things."

Steel's Ghost, Trigger, transmatted into view from the Exo's extended hand. "Then I think this weapon will be to your liking. Would you do the honors, Trig?"

The Ghost formed a cone of light from its eye towards Ralis and soon a weapon materialized into his hands. A shotgun. Bishop ran a scan through his visor over the weapon, pulling up details. Its model was called _Double Nickel_ , and held a description: _A blunt reminder that this particular room belongs to you._ Ralis smiled.

"You like to use your fists, I can see that. Sometimes you don't have the time to get close enough. Enter this. Think of it as an extension of your reach. If the first blast doesn't put 'em down, you know what to follow up with."

It felt right. "Thank you."

Steel grunted. "Thank _her_. She gave me the Glim, I just found something fitting. You can thank me by learning how to use it. Tomorrow, same time."

"Bishop?" Ralis asked, holding the weapon up slightly. His Ghost took the hint and soon his Nickel transmatted away. "Same time then. Do you know where… _she_ went?" He found it ridiculous that he still didn't know his mentors name. Never even shared a channel to reach her at, or even a ID. It's like she wanted to separate herself from him. Maybe everyone.

Steel shrugged as his Ghost disappeared. "You know her. If she wants you, she finds you. Not the other way around." With that said, the Exo took his leave.

Ralis turned back to look at the scenario range before leaving. He had spent so much time learning here as of late the sight brought on a feeling of annoyance. You can only shoot the same targets for so long. He left the range with a strong desire to relax.

"Bishop, I need you to find me a route."

His Ghost beeped in surprise. "Oh? Not going back to the Tower to read?"

He shook his head. "Not tonight. It's been a rough day, I need to unwind. Find the Blustery Brew for me." Ralis had heard it mentioned from his fellow Titans that they favored that City tavern. Once he had gotten around to viewing more of his messages waiting for him, Ralis had decided upon an order to join. The Pilgrim Guard. It seemed fitting after all he had done. Their Titan order was the oldest of history, safeguarding those who ventured to find shelter under the Traveler before the City age. Many had sought out the Orb for different reasons during that time. Most settlements that were large and prosperous were targeted by the Fallen on their first arrival. Not many of them were able to stand against the scavengers, which caused a large exodus of those that survived to flee towards the Traveler later in the Dark Age.

Some more isolated communities had stayed unharmed for centuries, like the Rhiners. When the Fallen finally did come to pillage, the Rhiners had ran and hid in the metro systems of Old Europe. For decades they and their children lived under the scavengers noses. It was quite remarkable to imagine normal humans lasting so long out there on their own. Maybe there were others like them trapped out in the wilds, or hidden settlements that would willingly come to the City if given the chance. Ralis glanced down on the mark that had been given to him upon joining the Pilgrim Guard. Long strands of cloth hung around the side of his right leg like a tapestry, one bore the Orders emblem of two vertical rows of intersecting diamonds which formed more diamonds inside of them. Six Fronts imagery. He would do all within his power to fulfill the oath he took.

 _"To those behind the Wall, love and service. To those outside it, fury and fire."_

The cloth blended in to match the shader that Bishop had uploaded from someone named Eva. His Ghost joking said he had sensed a theme with Ralis and picked it out solely on the shaders name. _Knight-Errant_. It colored his armor a glossy brown finish with grey undertones. He accepted the gift happily. Maybe Ralis wasn't actually a Knight, but he could try to live like how he imagined one would when his mentor's grueling training was over. Why was she so determined to make him _Legend?_ What did that even mean? It felt like she was pushing him faster than most others would. At the same time, they hadn't left the City. Others would have at least gone on patrols by now. Ralis decided not to dwell on it.

For now, a drink at the tavern Bishop had just mapped a route to would do just fine. Maybe some of the Pilgrim Guard that had suggested it were there. The Titan began to walk from the Military District further into the City where the builds grew taller, closer together and more people crowded the streets. The Blustery Brew was located at the Core, the section of the City directly under the Traveler and surrounded by its own wall. It was divided up into parts relative to their location, Core East, South and the like. The center of the Core housed the Hall of Consensus directly under the Traveler. Higher end luxurious buildings were common in there like opera houses, galleries, restaurants. A recapturing of humanities lost civilization, a place to remember and forget.

Ralis at first had found himself nervous in such a crowded place, the noise and chaos of motion was overwhelming. Over the weeks it had become tolerable. He made his way through the one of the many numbered smaller districts surrounding The Core. The outer districts weren't quite as well off as those in the center, but it was still a better standard than what he had ever experienced outside the walls. People would quickly glance over in his direction, parting out of his way just slightly.

"Bishop, transmat my helmet off. You can guide me yourself to the Brew."

His Ghost did as asked and appeared floating beside his head. Cool air brushed across his face and he breathed deeply. The smell wasn't as nice as the temperature. This many people in close together created an unpleasant aroma of perspiration and waste. Not excrement thankfully, just trash piles and decaying materials.

"Take a left up here." Bishop said.

Ralis moved carefully through the streets to avoid accidently hurting anyone. A few people would acknowledge him with a wave or smile, some patted his shoulders or wished him well.

 _Good day, Guardian._

 _Light be with you._

The City was large, and Guardians were usually busy elsewhere or held up in The Tower. Maybe it was rare to see one walking the streets as he was? All he could do was nod and smile back.

"Isn't this beautiful?" Bishop suddenly asked.

"What is?"

His Ghost spun around as he floated forward. "All of this around us. Everything. I hadn't been to the City but a handful of times while I was searching for you. Everything else I saw was nothing but death and decay. Here, there is life." Bishop looked up to the Traveler and then added, "And Light."

Ralis smiled. "Tell me more about that time, I'm curious." With all the time spent training, he hadn't been able to ask Bishop some of his lingering questions.

"You're always curious." The Ghost beeped and turned towards him while still floating forward. "It was a long time ago. I honestly can't recall exactly how long. There weren't always Ghosts. When the Traveler sacrificed itself, it also made my kind. It's as much of a mystery to myself as it is to you. But I knew one thing when I was born: it made me to find you."

"Specifically me?" Ralis asked.

"I don't know, maybe." Bishop's shell spun in thought. "It's possible we revive the first being capable of wielding Light we encounter rather than finding a specific individual."

"Does that mean it's possible for someone still living to channel Light?"

"I…I haven't thought of that. I always thought the trait was so rare we were forced to look among the much more numerous dead. No living person I ever encountered had a spark I could sense." Bishop pinched his shell closer as he considered the possibility.

"I was alive after you were made." Ralis mused. "As far as I knew, other Ghosts revived people long dead before the collapse. But thinking about it now means I must have had some sort affinity for the Light while I was alive for you to be able to revive me. I never felt like it though."

"Maybe that's where we Ghosts come in? We could allow you to channel the Light you couldn't naturally use, unlock your potential?"

Ralis nodded. "That's a possibility. But what makes me different? Why can I _remember?_ "

"Like you said, most Guardians were revived long ago. Perhaps you being fresh in comparison to them made my revival react differently? Or maybe I made an error in the process?"

"Do you think you did?" Ralis asked.

Bishop feigned scanning him and joked, "It would explain a lot about you."

"Hah."

The possibilities ran through his head as they continued through the streets. He noticed an overturned grav-cart on the ground with its contents spilled out nearby. Two men were trying to flip the heavy device over with the help of another man wearing a Forces of the City uniform. They seemed to be struggling. Ralis walked over without a word and bent down to grasp the bottom of the cart. The men startled in surprise and stepped back as the Titan carefully lifted the cart up and lowered it down right side up.

Ralis gave them a smile. "Looked like you could use a hand."

The man in uniform nodded. "I didn't believe you all were really that strong. Fuck, am I glad I was wrong. Thanks, Titan." The other two men nodded in appreciation as well, picking up their scattered goods and speaking in another language. He left feeling more positive than exhausted now.

"That was nice of you, _sir_." Bishop said.

His Ghost had jokingly started referring to him as _sir_ every now and then as if he was knighted. "Yeah, yeah."

"In all seriousness," the Ghost said as it flew into the side of his face to imitate a nudge. "If you're aspiring to be like the knights you talk about, you're doing a good job." There was a pause before Bishop added, " _Sir Ralis_ ," and chuckled.

Ralis sighed. He was bad at taking compliments. The thoughts of their previous discussion began to return. "You may be right."

"I know I am." Bishop boasted.

"No, I meant about before. About my revival." Ralis began to pass under a gateway in the wall that led to The Core. "It has to be a defect. The Awoken are said to be created from the collapse. If we have Awoken Guardians now, what difference would time from death make?"

"Awoken are different too, they have visions."

Ralis thought about it. "In a few bits I've read, some Guardians have gone on record saying they have had dreams from their life before, but it's never clear. They don't remember like I do, but they have rare flashes. Not frequent like the Exo's. And not premonitions like an Awoken. Does that mean their memories are locked?"

"Perhaps." Bishop mused for a moment. "But why? What good would that do?"

He tried to think of an answer. One of the few that surfaced was an unpleasant possibility. "Think of how I was when you brought me back. Scared from just dying, an emotional mess. I only remembered being crippled and couldn't even walk. Maybe it's so you're not a hindrance to yourself. So you can focus." Ralis kept the one negative thought to himself. A method of Control. Looking up at the Traveler, the Titan found it very hard to believe that the Orb was anything nefarious.

"That could be. As I said, I don't know. Thinking of those early years is all kind of a blur. I had one goal, and anything I did was to further it. Years of searching and finding nothing all just feel the same. I wish I had more answers for you, Ralis. I wish I knew more about Guardians. I should have taken more time in the libraries like you I guess." It was funny how Ghosts could sound so human.

"It's fine." Ralis chuckled. "If you had done that, then maybe you wouldn't have found me."

"Take this right."

Bishop continued to lead him further into the core until his destination was reached. The outside of the Blustery Brew was purposely rugged, giving a façade of age for the novelty effect. The entrance was constructed to look like it was made of mason bricks, with woodened paneled supports and window frames. The Brew's entrance was a pair of large wooden saloon doors that bore the emblem of the establishment. A fist holding a tankard. All along the second story hung banners sporting a large green center and blue trim, the Blustery's colors. He had been told the place had a history and it seemed to carry over in taverns appearance. Outside were patrons sitting at tables on the porch, some armored as Titans. There was laughter and food, sounds of merriment resonating from inside.

"You sure this is your kind of place?" Bishop asked.

"Right now is it."

Ralis strode up to the doors and flung them open.

* * *

A faint blur of images flashed by, vague outlines, distant lights. It almost felt like a dream, yet he knew it was real. What was happening? Then suddenly, Ralis awoke. He was on his back, looking up at the ceiling with his Ghost staring down at him.

"Good Morning." The Ghost said. "How do you feel?"

All Ralis could muster for a response was a groan.

"I thought you had learnt your lesson from the last time with Theo."

"Apparently not. What exactly happened?" he groggily asked Bishop.

His Ghost chuckled. "What is the last thing you remember?"

Ralis rose up higher from his small bed, rubbing his throbbing forehead as the room spun. "I walked in, spotted some Pilgrims Guard that waved me over, had some drinks. It gets hazy. They said something about Light burning out alcohol but I couldn't figure out how to do it after already having a few."

Bishop did his equivalent of a nod. "I think it was a rare treat for them to see a Guardian get that intoxicated, they were encouraging it. I hailed a shuttle, led you back here."

"And?" Ralis asked. The Ghost had a strange tone in his voice. "That can't be all of it."

"Oh no, it's not." Bishop said dryly. "I just wanted you to be fully awake first. You've got a _big_ day ahead of you."

Ralis was beginning to feel nervous from his Ghosts vagueness. "I swear, I'd hit you if you were standing still."

"I _am_ standing still."

"Oh." Slowly, he tried to steady himself. "Everything is spinning."

At Bishop's insistence, he began to freshen up. The shower felt nice and rejuvenating, but did little for the after effects of last night's drinking. He'd have to learn that trick before next time to avoid this. The Titan let the water run much longer than was necessary, using the warmth to wake up and stop the dizziness. After the shower he was treated to a freshly prepared meal, curtsey of Bishop's trasnmat. The Ghost must have swung by the mess hall to bring it to him.

Once he had finished, Ralis looked up to the staring Ghost. "Okay, how bad is it?"

"Pretty bad. As you might say, she was… _pissed off_."

 _'She'_ could only mean one person. Ralis awkwardly took a sip of coffee before exhaling deeply. "What did I do?"

A voice spoke from behind, causing him to nearly jump out of his seat. "You mean besides be a drunken fool?" His mentor mocked, stepping into the room, robes and armor as always on.

Ralis didn't even bother asking how she knew where his room was on the tower, overshadowed by the feelings of regret and nervousness. He was frozen.

"You had some choice words to say. Words I assume you don't recall." She continued in, closing the door with a wave of her hand. "All because I interrupted your conversation with that Cryptarch apprentice."

"Nele?" Could this somehow get worse? "Bishop, why was I talking to Nele?"

"You can listen to that all later." Bishop answered.

The Warlock clapped an armored hand on his shoulder. "Right now, it's time to train."

Ralis stared up into her helmets visor in silence before speaking. "Something tells me this isn't normal training."

"Oh no, newborn. This is training for where you'll face the most punishing and grueling of challenges."

"Outside of the City?"

"No. The Crucible."

* * *

(( Finally got back to finishing up this bit I had been working on. Baby's are not joke, she demands a lot of my time and attention but she's worth it. I'll do my best to get these out more frequently, I apologize for the wait yet again. As always, enjoy! ))


	13. Chapter 10

_"Cayde and Ikora have it all wrong. It's not that Strikers have a death wish. They throw their bodies at incoming fire so others won't have to. It's also the most direct line to a target."_  
—Lord Shaxx

* * *

"Stand right there." The Warlock ordered.

Armored up, Ralis strode reluctantly to the spot designated in the training area. Steel was leaning up against the far wall and watched, their planned weapons training postponed for now.

Solar Light exploded into his mentor's outstretched hand and took the shape of a fiery orb. She held it idly, floating. "You've seen the power of the Light. Felt it. Used it. But can you control it?"

Perplexed, he was hesitant to answer. "I've used it, so doesn't that mean I control it?"

She answered by throwing the orb at him.

Before the Titan could react, it struck him and expanded into a larger sphere of bright burning fire. It was blinding, causing the helmet visor in his screen to polarize. Ralis expected to be consumed by the Light, to awake once more to the sharp breath of life. Instead, the fire harmlessly surrounded him. He stood in awe of the brilliant flame. It did feel warm, even through his armor.

"How?"

"Control." She answered. "Guardians all carry a spark of Light. Ghosts are charged with it. I willed my Light to not harm yours, and so it did not. Those without Light are not so fortunate."

He stepped backwards and held his hand out to the orb. It passed through with only a warm tingle. "Why are you showing me this?"

"You'll need to be able to control it in the Crucible. You'll fight other Guardians in there as if they were the Darkness itself. Knowing this will stop your fists from harming those on your team, or the Ghosts who revive them. You're not allowed to compete otherwise." The orb extinguished out slowly and she stood still, hands on her hips. "Your turn."

The idea of not hurting his mentor was rather hard to turn off in his mind's eye. She did keep on saying, _"Hit me."_ Instead, he imagined her Light. It surrounding her, flowing through, making her the Guardian that she was. Just like him. He called for his Light into has hand as he had done many times before and rolled the unstable charge right to her feet. The blast was blinding, even for his already polarized visor. Slowly his vision began to clear to reveal the Warlock unmoving as if nothing had happened.

"Good." She clapped once. "You can see that method doesn't work in protecting yourself. Try not to be a bigger fool than you already are and that shouldn't be a problem."

"You keep talking about the Crucible like I'm going to compete in it."

She nodded. "Yes, that's what we agreed upon last night."

"I told you, I don't remember anything. You just stormed into my room and brought me here, not a word, all brooding and ominous as usual. I don't even want to compete in the Crucible."

"You said differently." She crossed her arms. "In fact you seemed eager for it."

He sighed. "Well I don't know about you, but last night I was rather under the influence."

"Oh I could smell it on you." She mocked. "Nice to see you handle yourself responsibly."

His mentor had gotten good at pressing his buttons, but he had also learned to hit hers. "And it's nice to see that you have faith in _your_ student. Walking out just as I finally passed the timed run. Really inspiring. So much, in fact, I felt like celebrating because you couldn't be bothered."

She shrugged. "You're full of surprises, newborn. Don't try to blame me as the cause of last night. You're a Guardian, act like one. Burn it out if you have too much. You can hurt people with the power that you have if you misuse it."

"Look," he held his hands up. "I don't know how to use my Light like you. I was already too far gone before anyone even bothered to tell me about that trick. That was my fault, yes. Won't happen again. But what I do in my personal time is none of your business."

"Anything you do is my business." She said firmly. "You must be on the right path to stand against what's out there. Don't be distracted by base temptations."

The heat Ralis felt rising inside himself far surpassed the warmth of Warlocks fire. "You don't control me."

"You don't even control yourself. Especially like that. I know this isn't the only time you've done it, I've watched you. With those you rescued. Why?"

He let out laugh. "They're the closest thing I have to a family now. Is that unacceptable? Having people you care about?"

"No." She said seriously. "Controlling yourself. Why are you behaving so irresponsibly?"

Ralis threw his hands up. "You know, I'm not quite sure how to put it all into words."

"If you'd rather put it into song, be my guest."

Fumming, the Titan slowly took steps towards her. "Saying it's because of you would be too easy. Sure you could probably make the Darkness blush and say, _'Yes, Ma'am.'_ , but that's not why I drown my sorrows. I _remember_."

"Yes, I know-"

"-No, you don't. My life has holes that move. Sometimes I recall certain things, sometimes I don't. It comes and goes. Sometimes it doesn't come back. Memories of my family, my life as I knew it. Being a helpless cripple and listening to everyone I ever cared about being murdered not more than a hundred feet from me. And the kicker? That was all happening while I was slowly being beaten to death by a Vandal that loved every second of it. My last image of the world that I thought I was leaving forever!"

She remained silent as he approached and loomed over her. "I can't be like every other Guardian. I don't know how to deal with these memories, but until I don't remember a damn thing from before, I can't start fresh like you did. I can't control anything happening to me already, so I might occasionally want to be able to forget things on _my_ own terms. Things I really wish I didn't remember. Even if just for a little while."

The Warlock stood unmoving, impossible to read. "Fine."

"Now with that out of the way, I won't be competing in the Crucible."

"Oh, but I think you'll want to."

He shook his head. "It's crude, killing isn't some sport that should be viewed for entertainment, even if we have our Ghosts. What could I possibly want so bad that I'd fight in something as barbaric as a gladiator pit?"

"Our wager. If you win, I step down as your mentor and the Vanguard will find a replacement. My reward? Getting to see you in the Crucible. Maybe then you'll appreciate my teachings."

Ralis froze. There's no way she would risk something like that normally. She must be certain he wouldn't win. Doubting him once again. She was more than likely right, and it was a safe gamble on her end. The Crucible would be fitting punishment in her eyes for whatever unpleasant things he might have said. Not having her as a mentor, however, sounded like a gift from the Traveler.

Slowly he offered his hand. "Did we shake on it?"

She grasped it. "We have now."

Afterwards, Steel quickly went over the mechanical use the Double Nickel. Reloading, magazine size, two shots per trigger pull, effective range. In application he kept it simple: _"Get close and blow 'em away."_

Rather than walking, they boarded a transport for the Tower to save on time. On board, still struggling with flight, he read the manual for the Crucible.

 **/**

- _Weapons will not be supplied for Crucible bouts. Ammunition will be in limited synthesized rations depending on the scenario variant._

- _Armor will not be supplied for Crucible bouts. Lord Shaxx is not responsible for any damage caused to your equipment during combat._

- _Unnecessary suffering or pain intentionally inflicted on enemy combatants is strictly prohibited. You will fight to put your targets down quickly as if on the battlefield._

- _Once the bout is called, all fighting is to cease immediately. Any Guardians refusing to stop combat will be subdued by present Red Jacks._

- _The destruction of another Guardian's Ghost is strictly prohibited. All combatants must know how to control their Light to ensure the Ghosts are in no danger._

 **\\\\\**

Ralis continued to read through the expectations and variant bout rules. Control, Skirmish, Rumble.

Bishop spoke up from inside his helmet. "Was all that you said back there true? About the wanting to forget?"

Ralis tapped the side of his helmet and Bishop took the que to turn off the speakers. "Yeah."

"I'm sorry, Ral. I had no idea you were struggling so much with that."

"And I'm sorry you had to ferry my ass back to the tower. Won't happen again."

Bishop paused. "Are you sure you're okay? Do you want to talk about it?"

"Nothing to talk about." Ralis slumped a bit in his seat to steady himself for the shaking of the shuttle. "I'm just having a hard time adjusting."

"Is there anything I can do?" His Ghost asked.

"Let me listen to what happened that night after all this is over."

"Will do. I'll leave you to the rules then. I just read up on the manual for Ghosts. There's so much on transmating and revival zones. It seems that since the Dredgen Yor, Crucible safety has been a much larger priority."

Hopefully no mad man would be waiting for him. They exited the shuttle via an extending loading platform into the stem of the Tower. Ralis finished the reading on the elevator ride up. Soon they were in the plaza, heading down towards where the Vanguard dwelled. Instead of continuing down the hallway, his mentor stopped at the station to their right. The one with all those trophies. Behind the desk was an assortment of furniture. A leather couch and arm chair were pressed against the wall bellow the trophies, behind a table stationed on an orange rub with embroiled yellow edges. Weapons leaned against contained scattered to the sides. Siting on the couch was a massive Titan. He had heard stories of Lord Shaxx and they all did him injustice.

Ralis was taller than most he encountered, bigger too. Shaxx stood as they approached and loomed some amount of inches over him. Even an amount so little was imposing to look up at. His armor didn't help. A pair of horns once adorned his visor-less helmet, one of which still remained while the other had been broken off in some past conflict. Lining his distinctive white, orange, and black colored plate were thick patches of brown fur along the shoulders and neck.

"So, this is the one?" Shaxx asked his mentor.

She nodded. "Still ever so disgusted by the Crucible, but willing to compete in it."

Both their stares seemed to bore into him. Ralis felt compelled to speak. "Is there something wrong with that?" he stammered.

"It's training," The Warlock asserted. "It'd be killing if Ghosts didn't bring you back."

"But you do kill, even if only temporarily…and others _watch_ it."

"The Crucible isn't just training and spectacle," Shaxx started, "We use live rounds. Winning a match is winning a battle in the truest sense."

It was one thing to be confrontational with his mentor. Standing up to this Titan was another story. "But fighting each other? Isn't our foe the Darkness? It seems like a distraction from the real threat."

"A distraction?" Shaxx scoffed. "The Crucible challenges our _best_. It is the finest training the City could ask for."

"I'm not here to argue," Ralis sighed, "I'm just here to compete."

"So you are, pup. Guardians judge the fights harshly before competing. You'll soon learn the Crucible teaches harsh lessons. They aren't easy, but you will appreciate them." Shaxx gestured to the Warlock. "I've allowed her to pick the scenario."

"You'll be fighting your first match in the Rumble Pit," his mentor stated. "All alone, free-for-all, fight till there is a winner or time runs out. Top score, and you're rid of me."

Ralis said nothing to her and just nodded. "When does it begin?" he asked Shaxx.

"Soon."

The Crucible Master wasn't wrong. It wasn't long before the roster of combatants filled up for the arena designated as ' _Bannerfall_.' The names were displayed at one of the terminals Shaxx's desk:

 _-Ralis Beckard.  
-Jec Landers  
-Zakhar Delov  
-Iris-9  
-Qiu Yuán  
-Crimson-14_

Shortly after the system had randomly selected the combatants, Ralis had a ping on his personal I.D. with a message not be late. It contained coordinates to the arena and a countdown timer.

His mentor studied the list of names for a moment and chuckled. "Oh this is just too good. Isn't Landers in line to become another Victor?" She asked Shaxx.

The Titan nodded. "That hunter's got a big mouth. Guess he can back it up though."

The Warlock looked to Ralis. "I'll be watching. Try not to lose too badly."

Ralis didn't like the sound of that. He left without a word, trying to calmly climb up the stairs to hail a shuttle. "This doesn't bode well." The Titan told his Ghost.

"No, no it does not."

"What did she mean by a _'Victor'_?

Bishop paused as if reading something. "It appears to be a status given to those Shaxx has deemed worthy of the Crucible bounties. Challenges he issues and rewards greatly when accomplished. In short: they're the best of the best. So he's _almost_ one of them."

Was he set up? His mentor did seem on good terms with Shaxx. Was she a Victor? His anxiety only got worse as the shuttle approached the arena. Ralis recognized it as where he had been sparring. Being familiar with the surroundings was encouraging, but that was drastically outweighed by how severely outmatched he was. Of all the combatants, he was the first to arrive. The others still had less than an hour before the start. Ralis spent most of the wait alone, pacing around Bannerfall trying to calm himself and study the layout. It had been sectioned off in such a way that the arena was symmetrical on both sides, with an open courtyard in the middle and two market districts on opposite sides. Both districts were connected to a building that gave another route towards the courtyard via the bridge in the markets, or the hallway in the back. The buildings looked like areas for storage, holding symbols for factions. One he knew as the New Monarchy. The other he didn't recognize.

"So this whole tower was abandoned? Ralis asked his Ghost.

"Yes, as were many others. During the Twilight Gap, Fallen scaled the outer walls and targeted the Towers along the way first. Many were destroyed and the City hasn't devoted the resources to rebuild them. This particular tower had history, which is partially why they repurposed it for the Crucible."

"Pull it up for me." He read for the remainder of the wait, learning about the attempted coup attempted by the Concordat to overthrow the Speaker and their defeat by Guardians supporting New Monarchy. Soon the others began to arrive. Most had personal ships fly by and transmatted down, their Ghosts remote piloting the crafts to the Tower hanger.

Ralis took a head count as they arrived. Crimson-14, a Warlock wearing no hue as his namesake. Clad in green robes and a gauntlet that looked to be encased in fire around the arms. Zakhar Delov, a Titan covered in bulky plasteel and relic iron. Similar to his own suit but different in design. The mark he wore was of the Stoneborn. Iris-9, a hunter draped completely in red with a strange seeing lens helmet. She had the air of a deadly Guardian. Qiu Yuán, a warlock wearing black so dark she looked two dimensional at times. The band around her arm marked her as a Thanatonaut. Lastly, Jec Landers. A Hunter sporting flamboyantly bright yellow and blue cloak and armor, reeking of confidence in his stride. His helmet had no visor. In its place was a red circular holographic display. His hands held a rather large hand cannon. They all began to prepare in their own way and Ralis felt horribly inept by comparison. How could he force himself to kill these Guardians like they were the enemy? What had he gotten himself into?

"Well looky here." A voice said. Ralis looked up from his data pad to see Jec standing over him, lines of text and images scrolling by on his helmets display. "A newborn coming to play their first match in the Crucible. But not just any newborn, no. The one that stole a skiff! I hear the Vanguard has high expectations from you."

The man's tone was patronizing. Ralis was in no mood already as it was and decided to ignore the comment, going back to reading.

Jec laughed, "I see, the silent type, eh? It's a shame you won't live up to those expectations today. Not after I'm through with you."

"You see, that's the thing." Ralis said, still not looking away from his reading. "I don't expect much from myself, never have. I don't care what others think either. I'm just here to learn a lesson."

"Oh I'll definitely teach you something."

"Is it how to be an asshole? You're off to a good start."

Jec's mocking demeanor evaporated. "You wanna say that again?"

"I don't need to, I'm sure more than half the people you've met would say it for me."

The hammer of the hunters hand cannon clicked. Ralis looked up to find his hand resting atop the weapon on its holster. "I'm going to enjoy this match much more now."

Bishop transmatted his data pad as he stood up to tower over the hunter. "So am I. It's win-win for me really. You win the match? Congratulations! You managed to beat a newcomer with no experience! You should display that on your crest with pride. If I win, you get humiliated and likely won't become a Victor for a long time." Ralis was prepared to lose and be stuck with his mentor. At least if Jec won, it'd be bitter sweet now.

Jec scoffed at the notion of Ralis winning and turned, his cloak whipping behind him as he stormed off. Not only was Ralis outclassed, the most skilled Guardian in the match now wanted to tear his head off. Today was just getting better and better. The countdown timer was at two minutes. The Titan tried to shake off the nerves, but he felt ominous about how this match was about to go. In Rumble, six Guardians were pitted against each other in a battle royal. It ended when someone reached twenty-five hundred points, or when the time ran out. Each kill was worth one hundred points that various factors of performance would add bonuses to. Thinking about actually killing people and being awarded arbitrary points for the task was something he still was struggling to process and time was running out. Everyone assembled in the courtyard, Ghosts out and ready to transmat.

Lord Shaxx's voice sounded in their helmets. "Prepare yourselves, Guardians! Rumble starts in ten seconds. Watch your back. No one else will."

The Guardians all readied their weapons and waited to be transmatted into their starting points. Ralis took a few deep breaths and put a fresh clip into his Galahad-E. He caught Jec looking over at him. As the two stared each other down through their helmets, the Hunter rose two fingers together with his thumb standing up to mimic a gun and _'shot'_ him. Before the transmat took them, Ralis could only think of one finger to raise up in return. The sensation of transmatting was still strange. After a few moments, he materialized on one of the bridges in the market districts with the New Monarchy logos and banners. The match had begun.

The tracker immediately picked up movement. Up above to his left on a ledge of a building. The hunter in red, Iris-9, had a scout rifle leveled across the gap into the other market district and opened fire. She didn't notice him behind her. Slowly he rose his rifle and placed the sight center mass but hesitated. Just as he thought he wouldn't be able to do it, she turned to avoid incoming fire and noticed him. She shot and instincts kicked in. The pair traded bullets and he seemed to be landing more shots than her. The Exo leapt into the air and vanished with a bright flash, reappearing almost above him. Ralis tried to compensate for the sudden change but missed the remainder of his magazine. She had drawn a small silenced side arm and began to spray him during her descent. His fall was not far behind.

 ** _Darkness._**

The Titan sharply inhaled as life flooded into him and he touched back down onto solid ground. The score was listed on the corner of his display hud. Iris-9 was leading at two-hundred and fifty over his zero. It was only the start of the match. Perhaps he could still make an admirable effort to compete. Ralis stepped out onto a ledge and was now at the Concordat market district. There was a ping of red to his left and Ralis turned. Down in the center of the bridge stood Jec, a sniper rifle already on him.

 ** _Darkness._**

This wasn't going so well. Ralis ground his teeth and ran towards that bridge Jec had been on to get vengeance. This time, he'd approach from behind, coming from the back hallway that led towards to end of the district. The Titan peeked out from the doorway up towards the bridge. Jec was still there, firing a few shots at those that dared enter his line of fire. The hunter turned to face him, lowering his rifle and giving him a wave.

 _That cocky son of a-_

Something beeped on the wall next to him. Suddenly smoke was everywhere. Not just normal smoke though. It felt heavy, like the gas itself was weighing him down and hard to move in. The fumes somehow penetrated his armors filtration system and he began to cough as his lungs burned. There was flash of Light, followed by purple fire engulfing him.

 ** _Darkness._**

Ralis slammed his fist into a nearby wall. How did he know he was coming to set that trap? It appeared Jec was a Nightstalker. Hunters that managed to touch the void were said to be rare so he knew little about them besides the brief mentions in text. He hit the wall again.

 _"Calm down, Ral. You can do better than this."_ Bishop said through his helmet.

He took a few moments to regain his composure. He didn't have the skill to match some of these Guardians. He'd have to fight smarter. He was once again on the New Monarch section, in the cargo room. A ping of red soon showed up above him, on the balcony overlooking the courtyard. Ralis ran outside and Lifted up to meet the threat. Zakhar had his weapon trained on a distant foe and noticed too late as Ralis rose up and pulled the trigger on his Double Nickel. The other Titan's body flew a few feet back, causing his Ghost appeared and tended to the corpse. Ralis had a place on the board now, even if it was last place. Jec had that district on lock down, challenging him was too risky. He'd need to find the others. At that thought his shields flickered. Crimson-14 fired in bursts from the tree at the end of the plaza.

The Titan ducked and switched to his Galahad. Calling forth his Light, he hurled it towards the tree to soften his foe before engaging. As he emerged from cover to return fire, the Light exploded. Crimson was blinded, but so was another foe. Iris-9 emerged from out of thin air, knife in hands as she stumbled from the blast towards his target. Ralis opened up, taking out both Exos in a hail of bullet. Battle fever began to take over, the thrill you get in combat that almost makes you enjoy it. As he ejected the magazine, motion appeared behind him. He darted to the side out of the doorway on the ledge and avoided a spray of energy from a familiar sounding weapon. The Double Nickel found its way into his hands and he waited for his foe to approach. Instead a purple orb of Light landed on the ledge and seemed to implode in on itself before launching towards him.

 ** _Darkness._**

The match continued on, chaotic and desperate. At worst Ralis took one down with him before being killed, slowly increasing his score. He began to learn quickly how to adapt to the storm of the Crucible, put himself in advantageous positions, mop up or engage others already fighting. Iris and Jec battled for the lead continuously. Jec with insults and taunts, Iris with deadly determination. She wrapped herself up in her Light to hide from his gaze and killed Jec from behind, which Ralis then promptly also did to her. Then he waited for Jec to try and reclaim his bridge. Sure enough, the cocky Hunter came running back. Ralis rushed him, Double Nickel ready to blast the bastard away. Shadows suddenly encompassed his form and he became a blur as Ralis fired. Jec lurched low to the ground and the shot went wide. In an instant the hunter was suddenly at his side with a hand canon leveled at his head.

 ** _Darkness._**

Ralis was doing better than he started, even caught Jec in some crossfire, but it didn't seemed like enough. The match was drawing to a close with Jec close to victory at twenty-four-hundred points. Iris and Oiu were both tied for second and behind a few hundred points. His own score totaled nineteen-hundred. Engaging the others was where he had gained the most points. It hasn't been enough. Fourth place wasn't bad, but the thought of having to endure Jec after this match, as well as his mentor, made Ralis angry. The caution the others seemed to have before went out the window near the end of the match, recklessly charging and trying to gain as much score as possible. Zakhar surrounded himself in a Ward of Dawn near the tree on the plaza balcony. Ralis stopped trying to shoot down at him and reloaded, but the others seemed to appear at all sides and took the Ward as a challenge. Crimson-14 rushed in and brawled with the Titan, using his fiery Light to create a protective shield like his mentor had. Oiu hurled a large purple orb of Light from her hands. The nova bomb crashed into the Ward and the two negated each other. Iris-9 rushed in, ablaze with Arc Light coursing through her and the knife she had drawn.

Then a strange _twang_ sounded in the distance. A streak of Voidlight soared through the air and struck the tree. Tendrils shot out from the orb and bound the four combatants, draining them of their Light and holding them in place. Slowly the trapped Guardians began to be pulled up in the air towards epicenter of the Light, dangling from the tendrils on the tree. Jec walked towards them, hand canon raised like an executioner making his way towards the gallows. Ralis took cover in the upstairs cargo hallway and fumbled with putting the magazine into his rifle.

"Well, it's been fun. Some of you put up quite a fight!" Jec said cheerfully. "Shame you aren't down here, newborn. I'm not sure if you've learnt your lesson yet."

"Just end it," Oiu said defeated, "You've won."

"Oh no-no-no. I know he can hear me. You hiding newborn?" Jec called out. "Come on out, let's give this match a fitting end, eh?"

The seconds dragged as Ralis thought of what to do. If he did go out to challenge him, the bastard would probably put a bullet between his eyes before the terms were set. The hunter probably just wanted to humiliate him. If he charged out, the outcome would be the same. Ralis would be out in the open, running at an excellent marksmen with nothing but time.

"Damn shame. I thought Titans were fearless." The sound of Jec dumping the hand canons spent shells echoed as he began to load it.

It was now or never. Ralis slung is rifle and sprinted out the doorway. Leaping off the ledge, he Lifted into the air and sought his target. Jec was standing close to the others bound to the tree, turning to see him in the air. The hunter raised his weapon and fired. Ralis let loose the torrent of Light in him and preformed the same maneuver he had done here once before. The Titan shot forward like a missile made of Light, metal, and man. He landed right at the tree, passing over Jec's head and letting loose the unstable Arc Light that consumed him. Those bound to the tree disappeared in his Light while Jec was knocked back from the blast to the floor. With fury, the Titan rose and advanced on him downed opponent who began to stumble to his feet. Shadows surrounded Jec like before and he lurched away from the Titan, but Ralis wasn't letting him get away. The hunter's long flamboyant cloak whipped out in the maneuver and Ralis yanked it. The pull whipped Jec backwards harshly onto the floor. Ralis reached down and grabbed the downed man by the neck, lifting him up and disarming him of his weapon. Jec drew his knife and stabbed, but it bounced off the Titans Light charged armor and almost broke the shield. In response, Ralis slammed the man hard into the metal divider in the middle of the plaza and tightened his grip. The knife clattered to the floor.

"You did teach me something, Jec. I'm in awe of everyone's skill." The hunter struggled and Ralis slammed him against the wall again and threw him towards the railing. "I think you also need to be taught a lesson: humility."

The hunter rose slowly and started to laugh. "Talk all you want, newborn. The others are already back. We'll revive once they kill us, and then I'll win." It was true, the four others were back. All with guns pointed at them from different sides of the plaza. None of them fired.

Iris-9 lowered hers. "Actually, I want to see how this plays out. Kick his ass."

"What!?" Jec yelled.

"Yeah. In all sincerity, from the bottom of my heart," Oiu began as she lowered her weapon too. "Fuck you, Jec."

Zakhar spoke something in Russian with a chuckle.

"This is Rumble!" Jec bellowed, "You don't pick sides!"

"We haven't. We're just going to watch you lose." Iris mocked.

Ralis hadn't noticed it, but the Exo was right. His score was now tied with Jec's. The hunter had no weapon and couldn't hope to compete with a Titan's might. He advanced on the Hunter and grabbed him once more and raised a fist. "I'll try not to enjoy this too much."

"You'll be disqualified for causing unnecessary pain!" Jec stammered. "So do it, slowly break my bones, and cave my skull in. See how fast they end this match."

"I'm not going to do that." Ralis said as he whipped the Hunter around and pushed him towards the edge. He forcefully grabbed Jec by the shoulder and bent the man over the railing.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Jec yelled.

 _Smack._

The plaza seemed to echo as his open hand connected with the man's armored bottom.

 _Smack._

Jec struggled "Are you fucking kidding me? This doesn't even hurt!"

 _Smack._

The others started to laugh.

"I'm better than all you!"

 _Smack._

"Dammit, I'm not a child!"

"Then stop acting like one." Ralis said calmly.

 _Smack._

The hunter really started to struggle. "You fucking enjoy this?"

"Yes." Ralis said. _Smack._ "Because right now, the City is watching this. Watching you." _Smack._ "Here you are, literally being spanked by a newborn in the Crucible." _Smack._

"Stop!" Jec pleaded.

 _Smack._

"It'll be all over the tower. Maybe once you have a taste of your own medicine, you won't be such an asshole."

 _Smack._

This continued for a little longer. Between what Ralis had said, and the others laughing, Jec actually started crying soft. "Just stop, please! I'm sorry!"

With that, the Titan raised up his hand into a fist now, aglow with Arc Light to end the match.

"Wait!" Iris called out. Ralis paused and watched as the Exo walked over to Oiu. "Just wanted to say that was well fought." Iris extended her hand to the Warlock. They shook, but a glowing blue orb appeared in between the two and stuck to Oiu's hand. Iris jumped and Blinked away as the flux grenade detonated and scattered Oiu into Light. The tie the two had ceased, and the Exo took third place.

"Now you can end it, Titan." She said casually.

Turning Jec around, Ralis punched the Hunter right in the helmet.

* * *

((It's been a while. I managed to get some free time and get another sizable update out. With some luck, i'll be able to get a few more out in a timely manner. As always, enjoy!))


End file.
